ELFINPIPER

Another quiet Christmas, but fun all the same! Mom made roast chicken, roast potatoes, stuffing, and parmesan cauliflower. And she made a cheesecake. Yummmm. Then we went to the not-quite-midnight-service, which would have been more enjoyable if I hadn't been sick all week and couldn't sing the carols very well. But at least we got to light candles and let them burn for about thirty seconds before we were hurriedly told to put them out.

My dog had a lovely Christmas morning. He loves those toy dogs that flip, so we got him a new one since he always kills them pretty fast. Plus he got treats, and a piece of the biscuit-end of Pocky, and last night he got some chicken. Lucky lucky dog.

I got my mom a turquoise sweater and some earrings which look like lotuses made out of silver filigree, with diamonds in the middle. (They're way cheaper than they sound.) My mom told me my dad wanted the CD "Smile" by the Beach Bos, but there are very very few places left in my neighborhood that sell CDs, so we had to try a bunch of different places. (In fact, a mall employee told us that there is officially no place in the entire mall that sells CDs.) We went to a record store finally, and there right in front of us was "Smile" in vinyl. I thought a record would be extra Christmasy, so I got it for my dad. And I went to a game store and got Skyrim for my bro per Keith's recommendation. I'd be thinking of getting it for him, but wasn't sure what kind of game it was, and Keith gave it a good review. As it turns out, it seems like my bro's been wanting it anyway. Yay. I also got gifts for the present exchange at college and something for Lani ^___^ I still have to get a couple more things for people who I won't see for a while anyway.

As for me, I got a box of Pocky, a rain stick (lol), $75 from my aunt, orange ear pods, the CATS musical on DVD, Sims 3 Pets, a pretty owl necklace, Christmas penguin socks, a movie ticket, a reeeeally nice Lord of the Rings omnibus from my bro (it's suede or something with gorgeous engravings, and pictures and maps and things), and my mom's also getting me real Photoshop! It's the student edition but my mom's a graphic designer and it's the same version she uses. Anyway, it's the first time I'll have REAL photoshop <333 tres exciting!

The only thing that could make me happier would be Sherlock Season 2... but that's gonna be a while yet for us poor deprived Americans ;__; Most of the time I'm quite happy on my side of the ocean, but every now and then...

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year & all that!

Hi.

( Jellicle songs for Jellicle cats! )

Click the pic - click it again - and again - eventually it will be a .gif... alright nothing special. I'm the only one who is excited about this. And it's even too late for Halloween. But WHO CARES! I'm drawing again! Yaaaaaaay. I'm sure I'll finish this one too, even though it won't be much more exciting than it is now ^^; just colors and making a stab at a whimsical Halloween-y background.

In other news, school is great, thesis is meh, job hunt is also meh, the rest of my family is apparently buried under a foot of snow but hopefully has power though I haven't heard from them, I miss mi reina en Japon, Kanna may be coming for Thanksgiving, a new chapter of ASB is almost complete, and I have Kit-Kats for an indeterminate amount of time. ;) これできっと勝つよ！！

♪ H A P P Y  H A L L O W E E N  Y ' A L L ! ! ! ♪

- ♥ -

So over the past couple weeks, I've watched all of Rurouni Kenshin, including the movie and Seisouhen. (Not Tsuiokuhen yet.) I've also gone through my Ruroken manga collection - I have up to 8, then 10 and 12, and then the last seven are in Japanese. Sooo I have to fill in the blanks hahaha. There are compilation books available now; I really want them. Soo, I also decided to upload some Ruroken icons! It's time for a change anyway.

In really cool news, they are apparently making a live adaption of Ruroken! That's amazing - it's been over 10 years since the series ended but it's still popular enough for this. They've cast Satou Takeru as Kenshin. He's my age :P way too young, but Kenshin's supposed to look young. I read that they also considered Miura Haruma (that's what I think I read at least - the article was in French) and truth be told, I think he looks more like Kenshin (the Kenshin in my head anyway). But Satou is very pretty too, and based on these articles, Watsuki is happy with the casting choice. I really hope it's good. It's supposed to come out in 2012. Satou has already been practicing kenjutsu. Must be great to be an actor - you get to learn all kinds of awesome things as part of your job! Hard work, sure, but also awesome.

So I finished the anime the other day and today, I decided to watch Seisouhen. I kept telling myself not to do it, not to do it... and then I did it. :P Like many Ruroken fans, I have a love-hate relationship with Seisouhen. It's beautiful, heart-wrenching, and unforgettable. (Tho' I wish they had just gone ahead and made it a little longer so certain things weren't so rushed.) And yet, the idea that Kenshin and Kaoru both die so young is just hard to digest. The idea that Kenshin, who found his will to live in Kyoto and then made peace with what happened with Tomoe, instead of finally feeling free enough to settle down with Kaoru, still can't find real happiness is... so dark. If I remember right, Watsuki himself said he wanted Ruroken to have an "upbeat" ending and that he wasn't entirely satisfied with Seisouhen because of how sad it was. I like to think Kenshin, though not by any means free of his ghosts, found happiness and continued to help people till a ripe old age, when he finally loosened up and could recognize that he did a lot of good with his life. As for Kaoru, she is awesome in Seisouhen, but beautiful and romantic as their story is, I can't help wishing she'd lived for herself a little more. Instead of devoting herself entirely to Kenshin, she shouldn't have felt like she needed to be his lifeline. Being his anchor was enough, right? I wish instead of sharing his suffering (the illness), she at least had lived on after he died and found her own peace. Overall, though, I don't want to think of Kenshin as dead, period.

That being said... I love Seisouhen. Especially the last parts. They are so touching and heartfelt. The last scene, where Kenshin struggles to get home and falls into Kaoru's arms, saying "Tadaima, Kaoru," and she replies with "Okaeri, Shinta" ... that just kills me. I was feeling depressed after watching Seisouhen (this is why I told myself not to watch it in the first place), and I was just getting over it when I suddenly remembered that particular scene. Ugh. I cried and cried. There's a lump in my throat right now just remembering it.

I wish I could express what exactly gets me so deeply about Seisouhen. I can't really say. Except that I always really loved Kenshin.

So, I'm a little off-kilter right now - pathetic, I know, but that's who I am - and I'm just hoping I'll be over it by tomorrow, since I do have to go to work and it's gonna be a rough week. Very hot, some rain, 26 kids. I hope the week goes well, but I have a vacation coming up at the end of July, so I keep telling myself that even when I get to the end of my rope, I only have to make it through a few more days. In August, I'll work three full weeks (unless I take the last Friday off) and then it's back to campus. Honestly, I want to be back at school already. Feeling a little stifled at home. And bored. Work is fine, but not interesting. I miss my friends and classes. But going back means I have to work on my thesis, so... well, there's no such thing as a perfect situation :P

Ciao for now!

この週末、家族とNEWJERSEY州の海辺に行った。意外に楽しかったけど、長い旅行だから今日の仕事を休むと決めた。二週間前、社長に休む日を伝えておいた。名前を書いたし、同僚に説明したし、ちゃんと矢って全部大丈夫だと思った。馬鹿のわたし　（：P）

今日の午後、社長からの電話メッセージ：「さっき私に今日は休みだと伝えたの？」

－＿＿－　はぁああい、そうしましたよ。

ちょっといらいらしてる。社長は「あっ、そのリストに名前は書いてある。だったら大丈夫」と言ってくれたけど、明日同僚たちにもう一度説明しなくてはいけないな。今日、みんなは「ニコルはどこにいるの？何で何も言わずに仕事を休んだの？」とか思っているかな。ちょっと面倒くさい。

：ｘ

（ちなみに、私は海の大ファンになったよ。海に泳ぐのがすごい楽しい。そして、深い海の生き物が大好き！アンコウとかね。）

More Light Yagami-Hikari Yagami spammage? Ahahahahahahahahahaha.

Songs of Innocence - The Chimney Sweeper
William Blake

When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!
So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.

There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said,
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."

And so he was quiet; and that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight, -
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.

And by came an angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins and set them all free;
Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run,
And wash in a river, and shine in the sun.

Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind;
And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father, and never want joy.

And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags and our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm;
So if all do their duty they need not fear harm.

Songs of Experience - The Chimney Sweeper
William Blake

A little black thing among the snow,
Crying "'weep! 'weep!" in notes of woe!
"Where are thy father and mother, say?"
"They are both gone up to the church to pray.

"Because I was happy upon the heath,
And smiled among the winter's snow,
They clothed me in the clothes of death,
And taught me to sing the notes of woe.

"And because I am happy and dance and sing,
They think they have done me no injury,
And are gone to praise God and his Priest and King,
Who make up a heaven of our misery."

ASB chapter 12 is up and it only took me two weeks!

... It will probably take me longer for the next one... >___> My goal is August 1st, though :)

So, here is the link: All Seems Beautiful: Chapter Twelve

It was super fun writing this chapter - I felt a little bad about posting a shorter one after such a long, unannounced break. Some good stuff does happen in it though... meh. Someday in the future I'll look back on this and see what I think of it.

Anyway, I think readers will be happy - there's a lot of action, Yamato gets to be totally badass, and the Baihumon subplot that had everyone being all "wtf" finally takes off again. Yaaaay.

I should be working on my thesis, but I'D RATHER DO THIS.

Tonight, I'm gonna take a break from writing and work on some art instead.

My kids at camp are great. I have older girls now (by older, I mean third grade... lol) so the routine is a little different than what I'm used to. But I think I'll get the hang of it quickly. This morning, they did archery, and it was a little odd because we counselors entertained the kids while three or four of them at a time got to shoot, which meant the counselors didn't really get to watch them. But they have Woodcraft on Thursday so I'm excited about that. Tomorrow seems to be a day of sports. :P

My parents are talking about going to the Jersey shore in a couple weeks, and maybe to an amusement park. I don't think we've taken a family vacation since before I started college. My dad lost his job (kind of tricky circumstances... he wasn't laid off, but was kind of forced to resign because his options were leave or move halfway across the U.S. to a new branch) so he's home and probably bored. My brother's been home all semester getting used to new meds, and he doesn't have a job. He's in a play, though, so he does have some schedule to work around. I'm off on weekends, which is really nice. (I need to remember to appreciate that more.) I hope we can go.

Also, three day weekend coming up! Dunno what we'll do for July the Fourth, but hopefully there will be a few fireworks, and maybe some s'mores...

Today I found these amusing things on a blog.

First, Pokemon stars in the famous Digimon poses, plus some fugly Pokigimon:



I'm getting a special kick out of Professor Oak as Takeru. (Shigeru's hair totally fits the part of Yamato though.)

And then there was THIS lovely piece of art:


(link is to the blog fyi)

Hikari-chan is a total BAMF.

Translation:

Panel 1: Hikari: Tailmon... evolved!

Panel 2: MY DIGIVICE IS THE REAL THING!!!

And Taichi's dialogue is too small for me to read. It looks like なんだ　うんがうんがよ which, i can't even begin to guess what that means, unless it's something like "What luck, what luck." Anyone wanna offer an alternative translation?

That is all.