The entry of: Tuesday, October 2, 2001, 05:21 p.m.
In which Puu ph333333rs Winamp.
Krisit, you remember how we were discussing that the Nishizono Shinji (from MPD-Psycho) winamp skin came up at random, inappropriate times?
It just came up for "Butterfly."
The other notable winamp skin oddness was last night, when I got the utena-akio-anthy skin for "Bizarre Love Triangle." Of coure, the title fits the skin better than the actual lyrics, but it was still amazing. XD
I was just thinking about something my mother told me. She grew up in the mid- to late forties, around the time India gained its independence and split from Pakistan. When she was a baby and she got sick, my ayya ( grandmother ) would take the baby in her arms and visit a Hindu temple and pray for the baby's quick recovery. Then on the way home, for the hell of it, my ayya would stop by a mosque and wait outside the door and let the Muslims leaving the mosque bless the sick baby, figuring that hey, the good you got from praying applied no matter who you prayed to.
I think that's kind of a cute way to think about it. Religion doesn't always have to be a pain in the ass if you're in different camps.
I don't think she would do the same today...Hindu/Muslim relations have had their high points and low points for centuries.
Now Playing: Radiohead - I Might Be Wrong
The entry of: Tuesday, October 2, 2001, 02:37 a.m.
In which Puu is random.
This is a cute song. [ download ]
Andy would bicycle across town in the rain to bring you candy
and John would buy the gown for you to wear to the prom
with Tom the astronomer who'd name a star for you
(C): But I'm the luckiest guy on the Lower East Side
cause I've got wheels and you want to go for a ride
Harry is the one I think you'll marry
but it's Chris that you kissed after school
I'm a fool, there's no doubt but when the sun comes out
and only when the sun comes out...
(chorus)
The day is beautiful and so are you
My car is ugly but then I'm ugly too
I know you'd never give me a second glance
but when the weather's nice all the other guys don't stand a chance
I know Professor Blumen makes you feel like a woman
but when the wind is in your hair you laugh like a little girl
So you share secrets with Lou but we've got secrets too
Well, one: I only keep this heap for you
cause I'm the ugliest guy on the Lower East Side
but I've got wheels and you want to go for a ride
Want to go for a ride?
Want to go for a ride?
It's so cute, dangit! T_T I don't know why I think it's so cute, but I do @_@. Oh, it's by the Magnetic Fields, and it's called " The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side."
Now Playing: KMFDM - A Drug Against War ( I'm going to hell for flip-flopping between Depeche Mode and KMFDM like this. Why? Well, KMFDM stands for "Keine Mitleid Fuer Die Mehrheit" - No Sympathy for the Majority - but it's also fondly referred to as "Kill Motherfucking Depeche Mode." )
The entry of: Monday, October 1, 2001, 10:41 p.m.
In which Puu discovers the catch-22 that is caffeine.
The Catch-22: if I keep guzzling caffeinated drinks, I twitchtwitch throughout work, and then I crash. If I cut back on my caffeine intake, I fall asleep at work. Hell. ;;^^
Busy weekend. I worked on Sunday and taught for two hours as well; talking nonstop for two hours makes my throat so dry. But it's fun. I've been teaching the class for a month, and I never run out of shit to say.
H---m. My printer's been being a bitch for the past month or so. So I finally bite the bullet and take Bitchako under my arm to Best Buy, where I dump it on the counter and watch the repair guy fidget. While I'm waiting, I read the prices and calculate the fee I'm going to be charged for this. $30 for opening up the printer ( ahem, "Diagnostics" ) and $60/hour for labor. So half an hour later, when the guy fixes the jammed guide plate, I realize that I've just spent $90, and I mentally wail.
- Repair Guy: OK, it's done! *closes printer, pushes it across the table to me*
Puu: Thanks ;_; *pause* *Puu takes out her wallet* *pause* Don't I have to pay you?
Repair Guy: Nah, it's on the house. ^.-
Puu: .....!! ( 1337!!! )
I think I'll get a TV after all. What the hell, it's a one-time investment - well, not really, but a semi-long-term-one. Besides, the economy needs a shot in the arm, and I'm just doing my patriotic duty?
Right? Right.
In other news, dozens of people were killed in a suicide bombing in Kashmir, a carbomb exploded in Jerusalem after a Palestinian man was killed by Israeli snipers, and a nutso in Switzerland killed a large number of people. Of course, this is but a blip on the radar in America; it's "Other News" in tiny print on cnn.com. After all, OUR dead are so much more tragic than anyone else's dead.
OK, OK, maybe I'm just PMS'ing or something. Let's look at something funny! Two comics I cut out of my school newspaper back when I was a freshman.
I think the artist had some hidden rage towards Publisher's Clearing House. I remember that he had a series of strips about how satanic it was.
And this is probably my all-time favorite. But it would scare people, right? Billy was an odd character...if I remember correctly, he had this spaced-out mother who was really into her precious collectible china figurines from QVC or something, and she'd spend time dusting them and being spacey about them while her son, I dunno, set the dog on fire.
OK, I need sleep. Mmmm, sleep!
Now Playing: George Acosta - Emotions
The entry of: Saturday, September 29, 2001, 11:29 p.m.
In which Puu asks for some help o.o
j0! Minna, if you're coming to my place on the 6th, can I ask you a favor? Do any of you have a decent TV you can bring? I have a TV, but I suddenly realized that it's old and to get stereo sound, we'd have to plug in the PS2 to the VCR and the stereo, and that's kind of a mess, if it's possible at all. I need to get a new TV, but if I can help it at all, I'd rather wait for another three weeks to get it, just to have mercy on my checking account. I like to keep it over $1500 as much as possible.
If you think you can help me out with this, e-mail or AIM or talk to me. If you can't - well, I guess I'll toddle down to Best Buy or postpone the party for a few weeks. ;n_n I've already got overtime scheduled; maybe I can swing something.
I had a decent day, and I'm trying to finish some more applications. Maybe I'll do even more overtime tomorrow. I think my parents want to see Apocalypse Now Redux tomorrow, so we'll see.
Now Playing: Berlin - The Metro
The entry of: Saturday, September 29, 2001, 11:04 a.m.
In which a lot of stuff happens, but it's pretty unpleasant and you probably don't want to hear about it.
Being woken up at 8 am and talking to the verbal-abuse tag-team ( my parents, switching off on the phones ) is just......unpleasant. I could talk more about this, but anyone who browses my archives will know how my parents make me feel. They're visiting. I told them not to, but they're visiting whether I want them to or not. Fuck. The joyous anticipation.
Anyways. KYA!!! YOU EVIL BITCH!! TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE BEBOP MOVIE!!! *growl, snarl, froth* Pick up another poster! I'll unF your leg for one, most likely. Tell me more about the movie! The seiyuu! Damn you, don't leave me hanging like this!! ;_;
Blah. I hear the fourth seal opening - er, my parents are knocking. Let's see how long they stay today.
Now Playing: 7House - Sondemotte KISS
The entry of: Friday, September 28, 2001, 04:37 p.m.
In which sickness makes Puu a better person.
Yeah, I know, Juri - I was reading A Room With A View when I got the idea for my blog titles. XD Damn, I think I've started some kind of evil trend. So far I've seen you, ryuuen, and gregly do this too. @_@ But all the novels from that time period tend to have chapter titles like that...the funniest ones are from Three Men in a Boat, by Jerome K. Jerome. If you haven't read that book, you really should; it's the story of three turn-of-the century British slackers ( and their dog ) who decide that they need to sail down the Thames. I have never laughed harder at a book than I have at that one. XD And since I'm nice, I linked the full-text pages. XD read and ph33r!
Having a cold makes me a nice person - I'm too tired and miserable to put up much of a fight with anything. I stop my car to let the jaywalking college students cross the road. I let my boss keep piling tax book chapters to index on my desk without a whimper of protest. ( You know, someone has to actually make an index for all of those books you read. I spent eight hours today doing it for a fucking TAX MANUAL. Just think how sick I must have been to be able to sit still for that long.)
But it's over, and it's the weekend. Sort of. I'm going to be doing overtime on Sunday after I teach the mythology class.
Blah. I'm waiting for about three packages, so I'm all antsy. Two of them contain manga, and one should contain my PS2 T_T I think I'm actually gonna work on my Tenjou Tenge page this weekend. ph33r! Kya~~ if you ever pick up the manga there, would you keep translating it? :D
I'm going to collapse for a while. I should eat today too.
Krisit, I have a lot of B-side Adam Ant songs I should upload for you to listen to. It's amazing; without the internet, I'd probably never hear these songs again. I remember my sister having the albums in the 80's - I still have Prince Charming, which came out in 1981, the year I was BORN - but most of the songs were incredibly hard to find unless you had the albums on vinyl. Enter the internet, and I'm genki again. *_* I recently downloaded "Apollo 9" and "Scorpio Rising" off of the Vive Le Rock Album, and man, I could still sing them 75% of the way through, even though the last time I'd heard them was when I was 8 years old or so.
Major nostalgia-trip.
Anyways, for your amusement, here's Adam Ant - Picasso Visita El Planeta De Los Simios .
o/~ As the masters rot on walls and the angels eat their grapes I watched Picasso visit the Planet of the Apes... o/~
Now Playing: Yo La Tengo - Autumn Sweater
The entry of: Thursday, September 27, 2001, 03:10 a.m.
In which a hot shower does a world of good.
Hot showers are so wonderful when you're sick and depressed, aren't they? I feel almost human again.
Spent most of tonight simply burning stuff onto CDs. Now I actually *gasp* have 500 MB free! W00t! And I'll have new music to listen to at work tomorrow. Today. @_@
Finished my UWisc app.
And ESMB? I found a fic that needs help.
Now playing: English Beat - I Confess ( which is a delightfully nasty little song. " I confess, yes, I've ruined three lives...did not care 'til I found out one of them was mine..." )
The entry of: Wednesday, September 26, 2001, 03:28 a.m.
In which Puu finds worthwhile Bebop-fic.
Krisit! I actually found an author who wrote Bebop-fic, and who did it well ( IMHO. ) Here's their page on ff.net. I was amazed to find post-Bebop non-denial fic that was interesting. I think you might like this author's Bebop fics too.
Hey, the Technomancy-gumi might find this interesting too, seeing as how they were discussing Bebop-fic last week. :D
Now Playing: David Bowie - Heroes ( Aphex Twin remix )
The entry of: Wednesday, September 26, 2001, 02:41 a.m.
In which the Onion saves the day, yet again.
Man, I love the Onion.
Don't they have offices in Manhattan?
Or is that past tense?
Now Playing: Pete Yorn - For Nancy
The entry of: Wednesday, September 26, 2001, 01:45 a.m.
In which Puu sells off a bunch of her old shit to pay for para para paradise.
It's expensive being a cheap, easily-distracted h0. Of course, Gregly, when I get PPP, I will be the paraparawhore for the IL-gumi. :D I might actually ask one of you to grab the sensors/game from the Mitsuwa for me if I can't get up to Chicago anytime soon.
But NOT before my next paycheck. I have to pay rent this week, and that'll drop my to $875 in my checking account, since I paid for my PS2 today. When I build it back up, then we'll see XD
Ouch. My shoulders really hurt.
I went to the shrink today. What a bloody waste of time and $15. " Are you, like, not messed up anymore?" " Not really." " And you'll, like, not do weird shit like cutting on yourself again, right?" " Probably not." " OK, good. See you in 6-8 weeks. n_n " And I had taken time off work and paid $15 for this? Sheesh.
I was out of the house for 12 hours today, and the client was an utter asshole to boot. At least my boss agreed that they were being rude assholes, and that it wasn't my fault.
I'm still on a mad Depeche Mode kick. I really like the stripped (tricky perversion mix). Y'all oughta listen to it if you like Depeche Mode even a little.
It was a long day, but I went outside once in a while and it was beautiful.
Now Playing: Depeche Mode - Black Celebration
The entry of: Monday, September 24, 2001, 09:53 p.m.
In which....aw, fuck it.
I'm thinking maybe I'll have a party at my place on Saturday, October 6. Y'all are invited if you know me personally. :D I have no idea what we'll be doing, but hell, I'm sure it'll be fun.
And anyways, I'm free every weekend, almost; everyone is always invited to crash at my place after JAC.
The new genkiland layout is up! Tell me what you think! O_O
Now Playing: The Strokes - Hard to Explain
The entry of: Monday, September 24, 2001, 09:17 p.m.
In which Puu discovers delayed gratification is overrated.
I just bought a Japanese Playstation 2.
Hey now! It comes with 2 memory cards, 2 controllers, the version 1 disk so it can play most US DVDs...um...eight games...it....it was worth $500, really it was...
Stop looking at me like that.
Now all I need are the para para controllers and game, and we're in business, IL-gumi. Anyone want to donate to the "Priya should really not spend any more money for a while" fund?
Now Playing: Depeche Mode - Stripped (tricky perversion mix)
The entry of: Monday, September 24, 2001, 06:07 p.m.
In which Puu should really cut down her caffeine intake before bedtime, and discovers that you're just a little bitch, one two!
My weekends are all blurring together in my memory like watercolors. I can't remember what I did all weekend, or the weekened before that...time is losing its meaning. I always knew when it was when I was in school. How odd.
It just started getting cold today. I went home at lunchtime to get my sweater and some socks. I absolutely love this weather, as I'm sure I've said many times before; it's my favorite time of the year.
I made a new layout for genkiland this weekend. I'm kinda proud of it - well, I'm proud of the idea, at any rate. I was hoping to make something I hadn't seen anyone else do before, and hopefully I succeeded. It'll be up soon, replacing poor K'. Don't worry! I still love you! XD
Oh, about my caffeine intake. Late-afternoon-naps + lots of caffeine = memorable dreams. Saturday afternoon I was napping for about 30 minutes, and I managed to dream that I was a professional dominatrix in a club. Right when the dream was getting interesting (and I was hoping my parents wouldn't find out where I worked), the phone rang, and I rolled over to grab the phone, still 90% asleep.
- " Hello?"
" Gzhn.....silence, slave....oh, hi, Mom! ;;^_^"
The other was last night. I found myself in an elevator with David Gahan and Martin Gore of Depeche Mode. And some other friends, I don't remember. But I was staring at them, and they noticed, and I was really embarrassed. " Sorry, I really like Depeche Mode." But they thought that was cute, or something, and I ended up frolicking in a shopping mall with David Gahan. Except it wasn't a normal shopping mall; it had been painted all over by little children, like that hideous artwork you find in airports by local children. And we kept getting lost. But he bought me sushi, so it was all good.
I woke up with a splitting headache and an unholy yen for Depeche Mode. I staggered towards my winamp and hit play, and then went hunting for my Tylenol.
I really wonder about my dreams sometimes...I DO like Depeche Mode, but it's not like I'm a raving obssessed fan....and the sushi? And the whips and chains?
I swear, sometimes 'me' on a normal day is weirder than most other people would be on hallucinogenics.
Now Playing: Boards of Canada - Telephasic Workshop ( The Boards of Canada are actually Scottish. Go figure. Good...electronica, though. I never know what to call it when you shift fully over into the realm of computers and synths and samples.)
The entry of: Sunday, September 23, 2001, 05:27 p.m.
In which Puu's dance is like sunshine on a cloudy day.
Juri, the new Zukin is the Princess-Zukin. ph33r.
Now Playing: Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes
The entry of: Sunday, September 23, 2001, 01:24 a.m.
In which Puu meets the King of all Bongs, the veritable Bong-Master itself.
I met it on the stairway, actually, being carried by five stumbling worshippers. They all stopped to shake my hand and giggle. It was 1 am, and I was carrying a bag of groceries.
Krisit: You think metal monkey sounds bad? I'm a Metal Cock.
OK, OK, Rooster.
And boy, am I exceptionally fucked up, according to this. " " Vehemence highlights the character of the Metal Rooster. Endowed with formidable energy and will power, he (or she) is disturbingly aggressive, always at the extremes of good and evil. People would not dare trifle with this much tortured, ambitious, proud, anxious, sadistic as well as masochistic individual...."
And so on in that vein. And I'm a Metal Pisces Rooster. *evil laugh*
Oh, this weekend was fun. Sorta. I got a LOT accomplished on Friday - you know, balancing my checkbook, a lot of stuff at work, sending off six med school applications, the works - and then I went to a showing of Ghost in the Shell. ( My dad loves that movie. He invited me to go, with a 'please? please? can we? huh?' sort of air. So I went. :D ) I came home at 1 am, worked on applications until 6 am, and crashed until noon. When my parents knocked on the door. @_@ We talked applications until 3 pm, when I kicked them out, got washed, and went to meet Juri-tachi at JAC. Meng had FIFTH MIX for DDR XD So we played that, which was lots of fun. Next time, I WILL spin on that one song! XD
Came home, napped, went to dinner with my family, and came back to goof off a bit. Rearranged my furniture, did all my dishes....and now...man.
It's amazing the things you can remember. I was going on a mad crazy mp3 downloading spree recently, and I downloaded some songs whose titles I remembered from Adam Ant's 1985 album, Vive Le Rock ( Scorpio Rising and Apollo 9, if you're familiar with Adam Ant at all). And when I played the mp3 - I'll be damned if I couldn't sing along with them 75% of the time. And that album came out when I was FOUR YEARS OLD. Mmm, Adam Ant. I really want the video collection, ANTics in the Forbidden Zone.
Anyways. I ordered Vib Ribbon for the hell of it. If anyone wants to see a singing dancing crack rabbit, do yourself a favor and watch one of the sample movies. That game makes me question my sanity each time I look at the movies. XD
I also ordered the Boogiepop manga.
o/~ With the heartbreak open, so much you can't hide...put on a little make-up (make-up), make sure they get your good side (good side) o/~
Now Playing: Adam Ant - Friend or Foe ( the dancing guys in the horse costume are the weirdest thing I remember about this video. But they still couldn't detract from the fact that Adam Ant is hot.)
The entry of: Wednesday, September 19, 2001, 07:10 p.m.
removed
The entry of: Wednesday, September 19, 2001, 05:52 p.m.
removed
The entry of: Wednesday, September 19, 2001, 03:53 p.m.
In which Puu discovers the joys and sorrows of stalking...
Well, I had a productive day. I sent off my first completed protocol to the client for feedback! I still can't believe I'm actually an editor, though. It's surreal. Note: Daftpunk and the Pixies are very good music to get work done to. I got more done today than I really should have, considering that I skipped out half an hour early today. But more on that later.
I left work at 3 pm because I had some hardcore stalking to do. I need my letters from professors IN ASAP, so I needed to touch base with some of them and wave my cattleprod threateningly...um, I mean, I needed to thank them again for their timely assistance. Yeah, that's it.
A quick aside from IRC:
- Angie: gaaah my back is numb! :P
Crono: Angie - how does that happen?
Angie: Crono - You never had that happen?
Angie: when you are sitting down and a part of your back get numb from how you are sitting on the chair?
Angie: and you go "WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"
Puu: ANGIE!!!! XDDDDDDDDDD
Angie: What? :D
If that made absolutely no sense to you, click here. Heh heh. This is also good. XD
Anyways, the first professor was so incredibly nice, but then again, I'd known he would be. He actually emailed me and asked me to come in so he could talk to me so he could write me a really nice letter. So I went to his office, and he was there, so we talked for like 40 minutes. He is so 1337! I feel bad for him, though; his youngest daughter died of anorexia last year, and since then he's been doing talks on eating disorders and stuff :( and his wife is on chemo now, because she had breast cancer which spread to her liver and her bones and...ack. I feel so bad for him. :( But it was really nice to talk to him; I took two honors courses from him, and he's always been one of my favorite professors.
Then I went to the other professor's office. I'd called yesterday, she wasn't in, so I didn't know if she'd even checked her mail from two weeks ago when I left the forms. :P Her secretary told me her office hours were 2-4, so I went at 3:40 to see her.
And she was out auditing a class or something.
" ......T_T I'm illegally parked, and you promised she'd be here when I asked you yesterday - WHAT THE HELL, LADY???"
Actually, I just whimpered at the secretary and wrote the professor a nice long note ( move over, Homer - I can fit more on a "While You Were Out" note than should be physically possible ) and taped it to her door, and then ran to get my car before it got towed.
See, that's the downside of stalking. I mean, I have the obsessiveness to be a stalker, but not the patience.
" Would you like to wait right here for 45 minutes? She MIGHT come back?"
" Are you kidding? Fuck no, I have better things to do, yo!"
Maybe if it were, like, Ed Norton, I'd wait the 45 minutes. But not for my damn professor.
Mmmmm....Edward Norton.
Now Playing: Daftpunk - Da Funk
The entry of: Monday, September 17, 2001, 04:18 p.m.
In which Puu finds out what she'd have to wear if she ever were to return to Kashmir.
From this weekend's USA Today:
Islamic rebels threaten to shoot unveiled women in India
A Muslim rebel group in India's Kashmir state has threatened to shoot women if they do not wear veils after today. Thousands of nervous women have begun wearing veils after the little-known group, Lashkar-e-Jabar, sprayed acid on two unveiled women last month. The group also has ordered Hindu and Sikh women in Kashmir to dress differently from Muslim women so they can be more easily identified. The group said Hindu women should wear the traditional colored dot on the forehead, and Sikh women should cover their heads with saffron-colored cloth. Police stepped up patrols and posted plainclothes officers at schools and colleges to protect women defying the order after an earlier rebel deadline passed on Monday.
I've been in Kashmir. I visited it when I was eight years old, before it effectively became a hellhole noone should return to. I remember it quite clearly. It was a beautiful, clean place, with air so thin that you got out of breath just standing still. At night you could look up at the sky and see more stars than you can even begin to comprehend. I still remember seeing the Milky Way from the roof of our hotel, and it's been over a dozen years since I saw it. I remember riding ponies up into the mountains, and stopping to eat lunch in a field, miles away from anyone else. I jumped into a mountain stream that was essentially melted glacier ice, and I got myself one hell of a cold. ;;^_^ I stayed in a houseboat, and as we boated to and from the shore, you could stop the vendors who paddled by in their own low canoes and buy whatever you wanted from them. Young girls usually sold armfuls of lotuses out of their boats. Lotuses are big heavy flowers, even when still buds, and they're cold and wet and drip all over you, but they are so beautiful that you can't help but buy them. We also bought a beautiful ceremonial knife in a gold-and-black enamel sheath. Kashmiri women wear brightly colored woolen clothing, headscarves, and silver jewelry. We bought me a full set of clothing and I wore them for Halloween so many times when I was little. A lot of Indians from that far north have pale eyes and red-brown hair; partly from henna used to dye their hair, and partly as a result of Alexander the Great's abortive attempt to conquer India. ( Which is why Buddhas have curly hair - Indians, for the most part, have fairly straight or wavy hair. The aboriginal South Indians and tribals have more tightly curled hair, but the curly hair of Buddhist statues is because of those curly-haired Greeks, really.) Driving in the Himalayas was also 'an experience' - there are no guard rails on the narrow passes, and army lorries, even back then, would race down the roads at breakneck speed. When that happened, your choice was simple; get pushed over the edge, or get skwished into the mountainside and have your paint scraped off. ;;^^ I remember all the morbidly hilarious rhyming signs posted at the roadsides trying to get the drivers to slow down - " No No, Daddy, Don't Make me an Orphan, Drive Slow" and the like.
I wonder if I'll ever get to go to Kashmir again.
Now Playing: Animetal - Honey Flash
The entry of: Sunday, September 16, 2001, 04:01 p.m.
In which Puu regains hope - a little - and has fun doing something that usually scares the shit out of her.
So, I'm back from teaching my mom's mythology class. Yay me; the reason that I couldn't remember the fourth wife's name is that there were only three, whose names I did remember.
Well, my mother's Indian, and this is a Hindu mythology class. And as you may know, Hindus and Muslims are....etou...not always on the best of terms, to put it very mildly. My mother herself has been known to rant about 'those Muslims' ( although it's all talk; she has Muslim friends and has never actually DONE anything against Muslims. It's just, uh, rhetoric, thankfully.) Today at the beginning of class, my mother had a short talk with these fifteen little Indian kids. All of them, pretty much, were 10 and under. She asked them if they knew what had happened and why. ( At which point a little 9-year-old boy goes into an amazingly accurate recapping of the Israel-Palestine conflict over the past forty years. My jaw just about dropped off, both at his knowledge of history and the understanding he showed of the probable connection to the WTC bombing. Why do we call it a bombing? I guess we don't have a short snappy phrase for what really happened.) Then my mom very seriously instructed them not to blame the Muslims or Middle-Easterners, because it hasn't been proven who actually did the deed, and also because the actions of a few wackos doesn't condemn the rest of the group. She said that as a mythology/religion class, she wanted to teach them a few useful values, and that hating an entire group, whatever it may be, for the actions of a few was WRONG. I was so proud of her, both for her message and for using this forum to convey it.
I don't know if the younger kids understood, but I think there's still hope for the world.
Then I stood up and taught for the next hour. I usually HATE teaching. I get nervous and stammer and freeze up. But I never have any problem teaching the mythology class; everything I need is up in my head, and it's such fun teaching them what I know and trying to pull what they know out of them so that they're involved and not just sitting there listening to me talk. I try to get them to guess what happens next, to understand why things happen - and I'm constantly amazed by the things they say. If I ask then why Dasaratha didn't want to let Rama go fight demons, I expect them to say it's because Dasaratha fears for his son's life. Instead they point out that Rama is the crown prince, and sending him on a dangerous mission threatens the succession of the monarchy. ( And I think, well, primogeniture isn't actually practiced in this story, that's the point, but the things they think of! Sugoi sugoi! ) I love teaching mythology. If I weren't going to be a doctor, I would be ALL OVER a classical civ career.
Technomancy-gumi - I'm glad to see y'all back up again. @_@ Ganbatte, ne?
I guess - I guess I figured something out. I'm wondering how people will be acting next week. I hope things will return to normalcy somewhat - not because I want to just stick my fingers in my ears and pretend it never happened, or because I don't care all that much - but because some of America's reaction has worried me. Witness the morons Krisit has to deal with at work, who call in to join the Army, assuming that there's a war, or not even knowing what we're fighting for. Kneejerk anger and hatred. Witness the gun stores being sold out. C'mon, are terrorists going door-to-door, and if they bomb you, will a sawed-off-shotgun do much help? Or the Sikhs, Indians, and Muslims being beaten up. What the fuck, people. This kind of 'grief' reaction is not only useless and counterproductive, it just shows you didn't learn a goddamn thing. You didn't wake up. You didn't start thinking, or learn something you hadn't before. It just made you act along the urges of your reptillian hindbrain, and quite frankly, it disgusts the hell out of me.
The soppier " I'm so traumatized by WTC, all I can do is talk about how traumatized I am, and go to rallies and wear ribbons and lower the flag" thing also annoys the fuck out of me. Look, turn your grief into something more productive. Donate blood. Give money. Drama-queening is not a 'sensitive' or 'noble' or 'heartfelt' or 'genuine' reaction to this. You should keep walking, even with bleeding feet. Even if you don't do any of that, if this incident didn't wake you up to the fact that there is a WORLD OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES with PROBLEMS OF ITS OWN, and if it didn't even make you think about the world at large, or start reading a newspaper - then fuck you, man, I'm not impressed by your 'sorrow'.
It takes a terrorist attack to make people read the newspapers. How sad is that?
Sorry, I'm kind of tired and stressed out. I apologize for most toes I've stepped on - but not all. Email me; my address is on the right somewhere, if you want to talk. I'm all for talk. But I'm more for thought and action, really.
Now Playing: The Cure - Happy the Man ( 80's new wave synth pop whining heals all wounds, actually.)
The entry of: Sunday, September 16, 2001, 10:10 a.m.
In which Puu is a cranky bitch and actually gets some work done.
OK, so I lied. I ended up going to Juriket for a few hours after all. They made me do it! They called me up, and lured me out of my apaato on the pretext of going to the Custard Cup for a shake. Once there, they used their evil powers and made me agree to go to Bloomington for a few hours.
It was lots of fun! I traumatized everyone with the Yatta! video - which the JP exchange students explained was pretty famous in Japan, since those guys are famous comedians - and we watched some fun stuff. The stuff I stayed to watch was READ OR DIE episodes 1-2 ( there are only three, right, in the OVA? ) and the GTO Dorama episode 1.
Read or Die: I really liked this. Emi has been telling us in #y about the manga for a while, but it sounded pretty fluffy. A cute, easily-distracted bibliophilic librarian really is a secret agent with 1337 secret agent powers? Code name "The Paper"? Can be distracted in the middle of battle by a good book? Admit it, it sounds like a particularly warped version of Sailor Moon or any other mahou shoujo show out there. But I watched it, and was really really impressed. The artwork is really quite good, the animation good quality, and the fight sequences are incredibly fluid and smooth. It's less Sailor Moon and more James Bond, I think someone said, and in the good way at that. Yomiko's pretty cute in a nerdy way - she hugs books and *_*'s at entering a big library - and Nancy-san is ten kinds of 1337, since she possesses a unique power that I haven't really seen used this well in any other show. ( The power to phase in and out of solidity, namely - it makes her very hard to fight, since weapons go straight through her, and she can fall straight through a building and resolidify herself when she reaches the floor she wants. it's really cool to watch.) Even Yomiko's ability to stop bullets with pieces of paper or form giant structures out of pieces of paper or attack with paper is pretty damn cool. If you haven't seen any of this, I'd recommend it. d00d, Kya, if you're reading this....*nervous laughter* I think I've added some stuff to my Manga-Request-List-of-3v1L.
Well, we watched the first two episodes of the 3-part OVA, and I was mightily impressed. After that we watched the G.T.O. Drama, which was lots of fun. XD I'd never seen any of the G.T.O anime, so I had no idea what'd happen. If you haven't seen it either, here's the rundown: GTO is about a guy named Oniizuka who really wants to teach, because he thinks students shouldn't be treated like trash. Problem is, uh, he's head of a biker gang, and took seven years to graduate from college...well, anyways, after some work, he gets a job at an Academy from the Rijichou, who thinks that a guy like him can help clean up the school. He's assigned to the worst class of troublemakers in the school ( which he says is fine, because those are the ones teachers gave up on ), who promptly try to blackmail him by getting one of their girls into his apartment under the pretext of needing to discuss a problem. She strips off her shirt and skirt, grabs Oniizuka, and her male accomplices snap a picture. They try to blackmail him with the pictures, but Oniizuka merely drags them out and calls up his old friends the biker gang to scare the boys into incontinence. XD Moral of the story: do not fuck with a teacher who runs a biker gang, right? The story continues from there, with Oniizuka proving that his heart is in the right place - even if he does tend to cause mayhem in his efforts to fix his students. ( ph33r Oniizuka if he shows up with a sledgehammer at your door.) Anyways, I want to see more of the dorama! Hidoi~~~su!
Then I went home, and attempted to study/sleep. But there were TWO loud parties in the adjacent apartments, and it was so loud that their music and talking overpowered my computer's speakers ( and subwoofer. I don't have a weak sound system on my computer. @_@ ) I looked at the clock, noted that it was 11 pm, and decided to let them be for a while and let them enjoy their party. It was early for a Saturday night.
Then the wall-rattling thumping and door-slamming started. And the screaming, the bad karaoke, and the drunken banging at my door at random intervals. I ignored it for hours.
Finally at 3 am I'd had enough. 11 am was too early to tell them to shut up, but 3 am was past time. I wanted to sleep, and it was deafening in here. So...
etou ne...
I called the cops. ;;^_^
I feel like a bitch for doing it, but then I remember that I didn't do it as soon as I came home and found out that they were having a party that could be heard from outer space. I live near four fraternities; it was full of frat boys, you know.
So anyways, I called the cops, apologized profusely for wasting their time with this, and asked them if they could do me a huge favor and get my neighbors to shut up. I said I wasn't sure which apartment it was, because I figured that if they shut up by the time the cops got there, or if the cops decided for themselves which party was too goddamn loud just by standing in the hallway, then it was better than me fingering a specific apartment. You know?
I waited for a while, and then finally I heard a knock next door, some indistinguishable talking ( the music finally quieted down ) and then some loud, belligerent yelling. Turns out that there were a bunch of underage drinkers in the party, who were being exceptionally intelligent and trying to take the bottles out to the dumpster in front of the cop. So mayhem ensued, and I said in my apartment and ;;^_^ ( especially since I was holding a bottle of Mike's myself. Well, moral of the story is, don't hold a really loud party until 3 am if you're planning to get everyone drunk. Be quieter about it. ^.- )
I slept like the dead, and was woken up just now at 10 am by my mom, who asked if I could teach her community Indian mythology class today. I said " Ung, sure," and I'm going over now to do a quick review of the Ramayana before the class. I've got a really good working knowledge of Indian mythology in general, so I can be called on without much notice to teach a class. ( It's like Sunday School, I suppose, or story-time.) I'm supposed to teach the beginning of the Ramayana today, which I remember, but I need to double-check which rishi gave Dasaratha the special prasadam. And the four wives were...um....Kausalya, Kaikeyi, Sumitra, and.....oh, hell. Need to review the names more than anything else.
Anyways. Ka and I had an extremely disturbing late-night AIM convo that she'll probably blog.
Yay, I have video game thumb!
Now Playing: Kyoko - Miraiseiki Maruhi Club ( Boogiepop wa warawanai ED )
The entry of: Saturday, September 15, 2001, 02:40 a.m.
In which Puu watches her belongings like a harpy eagle watches a tree sloth.
Sorry, no JAC or Juriket for me; I got a call this afternoon that they're FINALLY replacing my carpet on Saturday. But I don't know when tomorrow they're coming, and I'm staying in while they work. I don't have much expensive equipment, but I don't want to lose any of it. So I'm staying in town. Gomen yo!
I've been up for 22 hours and should sleep.
Now Playing: Siouxsie and the Banshees - Desert Kisses
The entry of: Thursday, September 13, 2001, 05:18 p.m.
In which life goes on...
Huh. I don't know whether I should say this or not...but I'm ready to move on already. I can't do anything for the dead, and I've done what little I can for the living. I gave blood and donated $20 - not a lot, but it's almost twice my weekly food budget. ;;^_^ My friends who worked in Manhattan are alive, which makes me very lucky indeed compared to so many others. So perhaps it's selfish for me to say, " OK, it was tragic, but let's move on into the future - "
But that's exactly what I'm feeling now.
I'm callous, maybe. Some of my friends, like Juri, got nightmares and couldn't sleep because of the incident. Me, I was sick with worry until I located my own friends, and then I gave blood, donated money, and went to bed without a care in the world. Am I heartless, or just pragmatic?
I don't know. All those faceless people who lost friends and relatives in NYC - I know they exist, and I feel bad for them, and I did what little I could to help. But their plight won't keep me awake at night the way it does many other people. I look at the flags at half-mast, remember, and keep going forward.
Oh well.
This morning, the alarm rang at 6:45 am. I was supposed to be at work at 7:30. I woke up, turned off the alarm, and got out of bed. I was shivering so hard my teeth were chattering, so I reasoned to myself that I'd just pull the covers over myself again to warm up before I jumped in the shower.
Eh heh. Next time I opened my eyes, it was 8:30. " FUCK!!!!" So I called in to work, claimed that I'd had car trouble, and promised to be in by 9 am. I was in before 9 am, and worked late to make up the time I'd missed. Damn. Note to self: Bed = Black Hole. Do not attempt to lie down in it again in the mornings.
Ragabash, I don't know if you read this - probably not - but actually, chimpanzees can and do plan and carry out genocide. They've been known to gang up and exterminate families of baboons. For no real reason, I understand. ;;^_^ We're not all that different than chimps, really.
Hm. Reading other people's blogs...there's such a range of reactions, from the deeply emotional to the 'let's just move on' end like mine.
Nostradamus. Bah. I can make you a prediction too; in the future sometime, people are going to kill each other in large numbers for very little reason at all. Someone important's going to die and cause a war. :P *gasp*
In times of seemingly senseless violence and tragedy like this, people scramble for meaning. We're program to wonder 'why' - from our very childhood, that's the one question we ask the most, and we never really stop. If there are no answers, we try to make some up. IMHO, that's the origin of religion - sorry to anyone who's religious; this is what I believe, no attack intended - it's a quest to understand 'why' and 'how.' " Why is there a sky? Why is there death? Why did this horrible thing happen to me? Will this asshole ever get what he deserves?" Believing in a god or gods restores meaning to the world, provides answers and a pattern. It's comforting. You'll get your reward, and those who pissed you off are going to ROT IN HELL. It IS the opiate of the masses. It makes things easier to take, because you can believe that everything will even out in the end.
That's why people are turning to God and quoting Nostradamus. It makes us feel like there's something we could have done to stop it. " Oh! Well, if we'd just been reading NOSTRADAMUS, we'd have known this would happen! Sheesh." I can see why people do it, but it doesn't bring ME any comfort. I don't believe that the scales will end out even. I don't have any reassurance we'll ever catch who did this, or that there's even an appropriate punishment for them. I can't even be sure that whoever did this did so out of, uh, pure evil, or whatever we like to call it. I'm sure they thought they were doing the right thing. Which doesn't excuse their actions at all, but hell, everyone thinks that they're doing what is 'necessary.' Even we in the U.S.
I don't know what would be the right thing to do even if we DO find who is responsible. Bombing the fuck out of a city and killing people won't bring anyone back, or restore the building, or make people feel secure again. But we can't just let this slide, either. There's no easy answer to this, and anyone who thinks so is a goddamn idiot.
Frank , you have more faith in 'democracy' than I do. Who says that after we get rid of the current gov't in Afghanistan, that the 'people' won't pick a government that hates us on their own initiative? A 'democractically elected government' doesn't automatically equal " loves the US, will do whatever the US wants, has the same ideals and goals."
Democracy, after all, is just the 'rule of the citizens.'
Which, in ancient Athens, wasn't even the rule of the majority. Democracy isn't the rule of the people, it's the 'rule of the citizens.' And if you count out the women and the slaves in Athens at the time, the citizens formed a minority of the population. ^.-
History schmistory.
Now Playing: Tori Amos - Bliss
The entry of: Wednesday, September 12, 2001, 04:11 p.m.
In which Puu loses her marbles and her email address.
Oh yeah. Yesterday I lost my UIUC email account ( sheesh, I only graduated last May ^.- ) so from now on, if you need to email me, my new addy is nemesis@chthonian.net . It is TOO spellable, Juri.
Now Playing: Moby - Find My Baby
The entry of: Wednesday, September 12, 2001, 03:42 p.m.
In which Puu is forced to be patriotic and lets the angels of her conscience overwhelm her.
Hm. First of all, heard this on the radio today. Damn, I love the Rolling Stones.
Ooh, a storm is threatening my very life today
If I don't get some shelter, oh yeah I'm gonna fade away
War, children, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away
War, children, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away
Ooh, see the fire is sweepin, our very streets today
Burns like a red coal carpet, mad bull lost its way
War, children, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away
War, children, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away
Rape, murder, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away
Rape, murder, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away
Rape, murder, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away
Mmm, the flood is threatening, my very life today
Gimme, gimme shelter, or I'm gonna fade away
War, children, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away, it's just a thought away, it's just a shot away
I said, love, sister, it's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away, kiss away, kiss away, yeah
If you've never heard this song - and you should - I've uploaded it here. Good choice on the part of the classic rock station, eh?
I'm starting to get a little annoyed at all these prayer vigils for the people who died. Hey! You guys! Do you SERIOUSLY think anyone who died yesterday is going to go to HELL? No? Then WHY ARE YOU PRAYING? GO DONATE BLOOD! GO DONATE MONEY AND FOOD! VOLUNTEER!
I'm torn. I want to go volunteer with the Red Cross' food/money pickup that's three blocks from my apartment. Problem IS, uh, with racial tensions being as they are today...and my distinct resemblance to a Middle-Eastern wench...I'm not entirely sure if it's a good idea. -_- Maybe I'm paranoid, but dude...
Anyways, today was both my boss's birthday and "God Bless America" day at work. Yes, they called it that. Anyways, at 11 am, every employee was summoned to the front lobby, where we listened to the boss talk about America, and stuff, and then we all sang God Bless America. Then at 3 pm we had food and keeki, which made it all worthwhile! XD
It was so weird to be driving to work today and to see all those flags at half-mast. I keep thinking it just didn't happen.
Well, I'm going to go nap and decide whether or not to try to volunteer.
I find it amusing in a very sick sort of way that the gas prices went up at least twenty cents a gallon after yesterday's attack. I hear that in Oklahoma one gas station pushed the price of unleaded gas up to FIVE FUCKING DOLLARS A GALLON. He's offered refunds, but man, people are sick. I think the IL Secretary of State's going to push legal action against the people in IL who raised their prices.
Makes me glad I filled my tank Monday night.
Now Playing: Romantics - Talking in your Sleep
The entry of: Tuesday, September 11, 2001, 05:35 p.m.
In which national tragedies do not keep people from being lazy and inefficient.
UPS, you stupid bastards.
In the end, I finally got my package. I'll recount the entire amusing(?) story on another day. I don't think I can do it today. In the package was MPD-Psycho 3-6 and Saiyuki 8. Which cheered me up a little.
Now Playing: Love & Rockets - I'm so alive
The entry of: Tuesday, September 11, 2001, 02:11 p.m.
I have no words.
I have two close friends who work in Manhattan. I went home early to call their parents. Thank god they're both safe. One worked a few miles from the WTC, and the other, if I'm not mistaken, was supposed to be working in the building itself. Slacker. :D Thank god.
I agree with frank when he says not to blame all muslims or middle-easterners. It's not their fault. Hate the people responsible, and nobody else.
I'm so tired. It feels so unreal. I still can't believe it really happened.
The first war of the twenty-first century?
I don't want to live through a major war. It's kind of something I never imagined would happen in my lifetime. But how are we going to respond to this?
Let's hope Dubya doesn't screw up. If he can pull this off, I might even gain respect for him. Ganbatte, ne?
I'm so tired.
The entry of: Monday, September 10, 2001, 06:31 p.m.
In which Puu reflects upon the illegality of matricide.
I love my parents, I really do, but there was a REASON I moved out.
Nevermind. I'll get my visit to them out of the way with, and then I'll relax again.
Now Playing: Pixes - Monkey Gone to Heaven
The entry of: Monday, September 10, 2001, 05:26 p.m.
In which Puu makes a long, confusing analogy involving touch football, realizes that she lives like a 18-year-old boy, and finds out that UPS is extremely tiresome.
Last night was interesting, because I finally figured out what one of my biggest pet peeves was, and was able to articulate it clearly to myself. But I couldn't figure out how to explain it to someone else, so let's try this.
Imagine, if you will, that you - let's call you A-ko - have a friend, B-ko. You two hang out often, and you like to play tennis. B-ko meets this guy, C-kun, who seems to like tennis a lot. So she innocently invites him to play tennis, and calls you up to play tennis as usual, except C-kun will be there, because he seems to like tennis, and B-ko wants to share the tennis-playing love!
So you all get together and start playing tennis. You're one one side of the net, and B-ko and C-kun are on the other. Now, tennis doesn't work on that well with three people. But if you're in a bunch of friendly people, it'll all work out somehow, right? It'll be silly and goofy but everyone will have fun. But this time, it's just not working. It quickly becomes apparent to you that C-kun wants nothing more than to play TOUCH FOOTBALL with B-ko, and B-ko doesn't know this. B-ko just wanted to play tennis with you.
Now, because C-kun's got his own agenda, he's screwing up the entire damn tennis game. You want to make this new guy feel welcome in the game, so you try to make a point of serving towards him once in a while, instead of just playing singles with your friend B-ko. But he never hits the ball back. Either he ignores it, halfheartedly bats it back so it hits the net, or (most often) serves it directly at B-ko. B-ko has a vague feeling something's wrong, but she thinks he's just a bad player. But you're kind of not getting any balls returned over the net, and you're getting kind of frustrated. You don't want to serve to him, because he's being an ass, but you don't want to cut him out of the game, because that's not nice. So most of the time you just stand there with the ball, looking confused and frustrated. B-ko wonders why you aren't playing normally, and you don't know how to explain the whole touch football thing to her, since she obviously doesn't get it. C-kun doesn't give a shit that he's being rude to you; he's still busy trying to serve balls to B-ko. But you keep trying to keep the game going anyways.
Finally you give up, say you're too tired to play, and tell B-ko and C-kun to leave. Later on that night, you find out that C-kun DID propose playing touch football, as you'd known he would, and B-ko was deeply confused and told him she didn't want to. XD
Still with me? OK, now substitute in 'hanging out' or 'watching anime' or whatever you like for 'tennis' - 'conversation,' mostly, because it really does take two to make a conversation. 'Touch football' ought to be obvious. ^.- Yesterday was so goddamn annoying because this guy was so busy trying to get into my friend's pants that he was totally shutting me out. My friend didn't get it - hell, she'd called me up to ask me to hang out, she wasn't considering it a date between her and him - so she kept talking to me. And I wanted to ignore him and just talk to my friend, but I felt guilty ignoring the guy, because I knew it would be rude. I really try my best to make sure that new people don't feel left out. So I'd keep trying to include him in the conversation, but since he never answered me and kept talking to my friend instead, I ran out of things to say and just sat there, feeling rather annoyed at him. Finally I kicked them out of my apaato, thinking, " Begone, foolish boy! Do not return until you have learned social skills!"
And then I realized that he'd really hit one of my sore spots with a hammer. I KNOW you're only interested in chatting up my friend. But LOOK, do ME the courtesy of PRETENDING to be interested in what I'm saying. I'm being nice to YOU, return the favor. It drives me apeshit when people do this. Shyness doesn't bother me, but rudeness like that does. I ended up being very annoyed that I'd wasted energy trying to make him feel comfortable when he wouldn't even answer my questions. It wasn't rocket science. o.o
- B-ko: Let's go watch Cowboy Bebop, Priya!
Me: Yeah, OK! C-kun, have you seen any Bebop?
C-kun: So, B-ko, where did you live before you came here?
Me: ._.#
Well, anyways, today I got a notice from UPS on my door that they'd tried to deliver my package but I wasn't home between 12 and 5. No shit, Sherlock, I work 7:00 - 5:00. I call the 800-number on the slip to find out where to pick up the package ( MPD-Psycho manga from Kya ) holding center was. It was way the fuck up on North Lincoln. So I drive there at around 5:30, because they close at 6. Delivery stops at 5, so I figure that all trucks would be back at the center by 5:30. Iget in there, show my slip.
- " Oh, we tried to deliver it today, so you can't pick it up until tomorrow."
" *looks behind the woman* Hey, that's it there, right behind you."
" I'm sorry, we can't give it to you until tomorrow."
" But it's RIGHT THERE!"
" IT'S THE SAME DAY AS FIRST DELIVERY ATTEMPT!"
" T_T Why can't you just give it to me?"
" I need to log it back in and change the status to first delivery attempt failed, cancel tomorrow's delivery attempt, and let customer pick it up tomorrow."
" But the CUSTOMER IS RIGHT HERE!"
" You can pick it up tomorrow between 8-6, ma'am. n_n "
And finally, last night I opened my fridge and looked for food.
- " Booze...booze...booze...there's GOTTA be food in here SOMEWHERE..."
More evidence that I need a firm hand to guide me. XD
Now Playing: Depeche Mode - Dream On
 |  |
 | eminyu : jurinyu : htk linkblog : catsy : ka-chan : mii-chan : krisit : dess : kya-chan : angie : tin : deshi : rnm : planet voice : chi : xiola : oneesama : wufie : gregly : koukou : rei : matt : leareth :: yasha : technomancy : becca : janeru : tay : tamanyu : steph : alie : katie : megly : stephen : kai : pocketsound : ed : taylor : meimi : mara : ragabash : gen-chan : sakki : vituperation : frank : alexa : shannon : amy : diana : sarah : rachael : sinnamon : odd google cruel.com :: the onion :: seanbaby.com :: BC :: engrish.com :: PoE :: sexylosers :: anime links :: bushblog |
 |  |
 |
sign: pisces or metal rooster or revati // |
| Big O - Cowboy Bebop - DiGi Charat - Trigun - Petshop of Horrors - Excel Saga - Gokudo-kun - lain - Saiyuki - Basara  
|