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~ September ~ October ~ November ~ December ~ archive: 2007

11/30/07 ~ Friday 3:45 pm

Status: super busy ~ Listening to: phones ringing

only my friends....

I uploaded Pearl-chan's wishlist. It is O.O as well as >.< and alot of @.@ with...etc. At least I almost have everybody's list...except for Jenn-chan and 140. Hiyaku! ^.^

11/29/07 ~ Thursday 10:50 pm

Status: amused ~ Listening to: Cresendo - Stella Quintet (Kiniro no Corda ED)

downside of wigs

When you wear a hat for long periods of time, you get hat hair. When you wear a wig for long periods of time, you get wig hair. What happens is that your own hair is flat against your head. Not pretty. ^^;

But...I am a girl!?!

I wore my wig to work today. Got very good comments on it. There was an overlaying agreement for me to have my hair actually cut that way, but I like 140's idea best. "You have long hair. When you want short hair, you can just wear the wig." ^.^ The most infuriating statement of the day was that I look 'girly' with the wig on. O.o *shakes fist* I am a girl! Does my hair down make me look more boyish? *throws pens* lol I have funny co-workers.

tomorrow's plans

I'm going to meet Pearl-chan and P-chan after work tomorrow. Yay! ^.^ I have an afternoon appt., but I'll leave right afterwards. A prospective plan is to go to Kinokuniya to check out the sweets event that is being held tomorrow. Also, I want to grab a pic of the mural by Inoue-sensei. Of course, dinner and perhaps ice cream will come into play at some time.

PM to P-chan

I posted P-chan's list. If you don't want it posted online, please let me know. I think it is hilarious. My comment to her: lol I only said 10! ^.^ Fine...since you're one of my bffs...only from you.

PM to Pearl-chan

Pearl-chan, if you want 14 too, it's okay. ^.^

12:55 am ~ Status: head hurts ~ Listening to: silence

shopping for gifts = making hole in wallet

I ordered alot of stuff today...hopefully they will come on time. I chose the slowest shipping since my purchases were already $$$. ^^; The estimated time is still before Dec. 25, so there are no problems there. I'm STILL not done shopping yet. I'm still waiting for wishlists from three people...where are you guys, Pearl-chan, Jenn-chan and 140? lol I'm going to have to call them tomorrow. ^^;

PM to Pearl-chan

Sorry for being so out of it when we spoke this evening. I was working on my gifts (as you know.) I'll talk to you tomorrow with my full attention! ^.^

11/26/07 ~ Monday 9:47 pm

Status: confused ~ Listening to: Game - Ayumi Hamasaki

no signing?

I called Kinokuniya today to confirm whether or not there was a signing for mangaka Inoue Takehiko-sensei last wednesday. And there wasn't. O.o No signing was ever scheduled and Inoue-sensei is back in Japan already. I'm happy that I did NOT miss a signing...sad that I won't get to see him...and happy that there was no signing for me to miss. Yay!

gay wizards...not Dumbledore

Some time ago, someone recommended a book to me, 'Melusine' by Sarah Monette. It is huge, a 400+ page book in the fantasy genre. I didn't really remember why she recommended such a book to me until I started reading. Oh, the main character is a gay wizard. ^^; I didn't even know the dude was gay since his lover was another dude named Shannon. I thought the other main character, a thief was a girl since the alias was Mildmay...but he is a guy too (straight it seems. ^.^) Not that their sexual orientation matter....

Already two pages into the book and the wizard's ugly past is dragged up and he is soon framed for a crime that his 'master' forced him to do. The story switches from the POV of the wizard and the thief. Somehow they are connected, but I haven't gotten to why yet. I'm only up 1/4 into the book. Reading it slowly since I have work most of the day and I must sleep. (Also reading doujins before bed is a must. ^.^)

11/25/07 ~ Sunday 7:25 pm

Status: happy ~ Listening to: Hope or Pain - Ayumi Hamasaki

wishlist revised ^.^

Besides adding new lists to my wishlist, I want to make note that I just bought vol. 1-4 of the Megatokyo graphic novel that I was asking for. Saw a great deal on ebay and couldn't resist. ^.^ I still don't have vol. 5 so if anyone is interested.... *grins*

Ritsuka cosplay and con prep updates

Ritsuka - Loveless

I have the medical tape...somewhere in my house. If I don't find it soon, I'll have to buy another roll. I have been going through the schedule of events, picking out what I want to do and who I want to see. The autograph lines may still be horrendously long, but I'm used to con lines. (It's those Black Friday lines that I DON'T want to experience again. *shudders*) I'm also looking for regular green tea pocky. Seems that Glico (Pocky company) came out with green tea marble pocky...and the stores are stocking up on that and regular green tea pocky are hard to find. I'll be in Man. Fam. Crt. tomorrow so I'll swing by Chinatown for a look/see. The major washing and packing of my cosplays outfits will commence this week...once I get the Christmas shopping out of the way.

aka. 'windows' shopping *headdesk*

Yes, I'm doing my Christmas shopping now. ^.^ As tradition (and common sense) holds, I do my shopping between Thanksgiving and the beginning of Dec. Since I do most of my shopping online, it is only practical to order them as soon as possible. Of course, wrapping comes later. After shopping and cosplay, I'm going back to my calendars. ^-^

1:10 am ~ Status: amused

more than expected

After our hotpot dinner, we discovered that we had ALOT of food leftover. Uncooked. Since church is tomorrow, we decided to cook the rest of it and bring it for lunch. We cooked until 12:20am and ended up with 5 trays full. O.O My fav dish is the stirfried shrimp. Oishi! ^.^ The question of the evening was how much food did they think we would eat? How did we end up with so much? lol The people who bought the supplies overestimated our stomachs. ^^;

leak

J's sink had a leak and I discovered it...after stepping into it X numbers of times while I was washing the dishes. (I took over washing dishes since I didn't want to subject the church ppl to my cooking.) Ducktape was the temp remedy until he can go to Home Depot tomorrow. ^.^

11/24/07 ~ Saturday 5:25 pm

Status: hyper ~ Listening to: me typing

hotpot! ^.^

I'm heading out in 5 minutes to go to church friend's house for hotpot and wii. ^-^ Yay! I haven't been doing much besides eating and sleeping, so eating and wii sounds like a great combo.

11/23/07 ~ Friday 8:00 am

Status: exhausted ~ Listening to: tummy growling

never again: thoughts on Black Friday

I got what I wanted: Garmin Nuvi 200 GPS and a 2GB SanDisk microSD card. Both items I would have gotten if I had went at 5am instead of spending the night at Best Buy. But I did it for the laptop computers, which I couldn't get. Anybody that didn't receive tickets (me) needs to wait until 9am to see if they have any left. I don't want to go back at 9am. I decided that if I must go to Black Friday, I either go super early (like 3pm Thanksgiving Day) to camp out or not go at all. To get any of those ticketed items, you either need to be super early or super aggressive.

how it felt...

When I got there at 9:30, okaasan found her friend's father (one whom I would call 'grandfather') in the front half of the line. I plopped down next to him and snuggled into my sleeping bag. I was between two tents (smart ppl) and both were loud and obnoxious. However, they were humorous and kept me entertained into the wee hours of the night. They told stories, quoted movie lines and finally sang. I had two bathroom breaks: one at 11:30pm and one at 2:15am. Throughout the evening, I played my on DS, read manga and listened to music. My sleeping bag kept out the wind and I was as warm as my own body heat (which was fine until 1am when I was cold.)

Okaasan came at 3am and everyone started to stand up to create a line or really a mob. I sent okaasan home within minutes. Okaasan's friend had already arrive by that time and engaged in a shouting match with the people who were in cars overnight and wanted to claim their place ahead of us. That was not the only argument she got into that night. I would give her props for being assertive and not letting others push her down, but she was annoying, her English hurts my ears and I was too tired to deal with crap so I stayed quiet.

Initial tickets were given to people in front of the crowd (not me) and then the remainding tickets were taken back inside the store. They stated that we had to go to the laptop line inside to buy any laptops and that is why I would need to go back at 9am if I wanted to buy a one that tickets weren't completely given out for. Confused? Doesn't matter....

missed the signing

What really made me >.< was the news that Inoue Takehiko-sensei had a signing on Wed., 11/21 and that I missed it. Pearl-chan informed me since she found out after the fact. I should have been more vigilant in contacting Kinokuniya. There are alot of 'I could have' in my mind, but I'll leave it at that.

11/22/07 ~ Thursday 9:25 pm

Status: satisfied ~ Listening to: Metamorphoze - Gackt

No more lights!

Couple hours ago, I posted about my new sneakers have lights on them. Now, China efficiency shows with the lights out of comission after a day of usage. lol I'm quite happy about that, although I still don't like the fact that the bottom sole is clear. *shrugs*

Lines...tickets...it's almost like the cons!

Never went to Black Friday sales before. Tonight will be my first. ^_^ My location is Best Buy and my targets are a Toshiba laptop (for my aunt in Taiwan,) a Garmin GPS system and a Sandisk microSD card for myself. I plan to head out at 12am. They will be giving out tickets at 3am and the doors open at 5am. Okaasan will be coming with me since she also wants a Toshiba laptop. >.< We might head out sooner though...since I know how crazed people are. *ahem* PS3....

5:10 pm ~ Status: busy

They light up! WTF?!?

Bottom line, I want black sneakers for my Ritsuka cosplay. I also want black Heelys, shoes with a wheel in the back (usually for kids.) Okaasan bought black sneakers from Flushing that had wheels in the back for $20. Awesome! Or so I thought. Bad news: the buttom 'rubber' part of the shoe is clear plastic, which means only one thing: it lights up. >.< Red, green and blue. I can paint over the plastic part with black paint, but I must stop the stupid thing from blinking! Solution? Use up the batteries. I'm relying on the fact that this pair is from China and they use cheap batteries. Hopefully, they will stop blinking in time for the convention. >.<

If this does not work, I'm going to end up buying black sneakers. But I still want my own shoes-with-wheels....

Happy Let's-Eat-Turkey Day!

I'm heading out to church right now. Will call everyone when I get there for holiday well wishes. Talk to you soon! ^.^

11/21/07 ~ Wednesday 12:20 am

Status: calm ~ Listening to: me typing

dinner at Pearl-chan's

After getting into an ultra bad mood due to a client's call, I decided not to go to Kinokuniya today. Also, I made that decision after my Japanese co-worker called the store to confirm that there were no events occuring today. However, they said that there might be a signing or another Inoue-sensei event in the future. Maybe.... Oh well, if there is, that is great. If not, then at least I saw him yesterday. *happy sigh* So, instead of leaving early for Kinokuniya, I stayed later at the office to finish up stuff and went to Pearl-chan's restaurant for some destressing stuff...like eating ice cream.

Pearl-chan welcomed me and gave me some ice cream as requested. Yummy green tea, my fav. ^.^ P-chan came afterwards and we had dinner while discussing Japanime, food, growth spurts, the position of 'honorary girl' (held by CB ^.^) and other disconnected topics. We also finished off our dinner with ice cream. More green tea for me! Did I mention that I like green tea?

yes, it is my fault ^^;

BTW, I'm the one responsible for introducing 4 girls to shonen ai/yaoi/boy's love: Pearl-chan (indirectly through Gravitation,) my Chinese co-worker (through Loveless,) my Japanese co-worker (also through Loveless, ^^;) and a friend (through me talking about it and she discovering One Piece fanfiction....) lol My godsister, Theresa-neechan laughs since she is the one who got me into yaoi. *happy sigh* Those days of KuramaxHiei vs. YusukexKurama vs. HieixKurama vs. YusukexHiei...I love them all. ^.^ Why bring this up? Because this was a topic of discussion over dinner tonight. Anything goes....

11/19/07 ~ Monday 11:25 pm (EDIT)

Status: tired ~ Listening to: Kimi ga Suki da to Sakebitai - BAAD (Slam Dunk OP)

only for today: Inoue Takehiko-sensei

The press conference portion was well underway when I arrived at Kinokuniya at 3:45pm. Various companies were taking turns interviewing the mangaka in a corner of the store. The mural that Inoue-sensei was working on can clearly be seen near the escalator. I confirmed with security and Viz Media personales that there won't be any signing. *cries* I had a silent hope to get his autograph somehow, but gave up when I overheard one of the press people say to his friend that he had something for Inoue-sensei to sign, but was told he won't be able to. ^^;

Press gets priority today: they're the only ones that can take pics of the mural itself. We (commoners ^^;) can take pics tomorrow. I inquired if I was allowed to take pics of Inoue-sensei and security allowed me to. He told me to stand next to a pillar (that blocked my view of the mural.) I took several pics with my cell at that time. Then I resumed staring at the wonderful mangaka, trying to listen in on what was being said (while I stood 5 yds. away) and enjoying being in the same room as him. ^^; Security then told me that I could take pics at a point closer to the group. O.O My fav pic is the one I posted above. Inoue-sensei is the one in the middle. The one to the right is the interpreter. I thanked the guard afterwards.

Pearl-chan met up with me while I was still in staring mode. We walked around the store for awhile and returned when the interviews ended and people started to gather around the ropes that separated us from the painting area. Pearl-chan and I got a pretty good view (since we were waiting there for quite some time. ^^;) Inoue-sensei came and started painting. O.O

Pressure or no, he is awesome! This was Inoue-sensei's first time painting on a wall. He had some rough sketches on paper, but the majority of the painting was done freestyle. He started over the weekend and probably saved the last part and details for today. There are two parts to the mural; one large head and a samurai, both from his latest manga, Vagabond. They mentioned that Inoue-sensei felt the large head was easier to draw since there wasn't that much detail needed. The samurai in comparison had a complete body. (I overheard that the estimated time was 2-3 hrs. for the head, and 4 hrs. for the full samurai.) At times, the artist would step out of the ropes to get a full view of his work. What he worked on were the reeds and grass at the samurai's feet, adding in a sakura pattern for the inner shirt, more flowing hair (for bishie-ness, ^.^) and finally the eyes of the samurai. When he finally wrote his name 'Inoue' in English, everyone applauded. (BTW, there is a smiley =) beside the large face. I thought he was going to paint over it, but I guess that is staying. ^.^)

Viz Media rep of the English version of the manga anthology, Shonen Jump spoke. Viz will be releasing the Slam Dunk manga. Already, the Dec. issue of Shonen Jump features a chapter of the manga in color. Viz will also be releasing Real, another awesome basketball drama series by Inoue-sensei. The 'press only' part began with toasts to the mangaka. Pearl-chan and I took our leave. Before we left though, I found out that Inoue-sensei will not be at the store tomorrow. However, I will still be there to take pics of the mural. ^.^

Today's event was never on the calendar of events for Kinokuniya. Most likely because it was for press. There should be something happening tomorrow according to the calendar, but I have no idea what. Time is still TBA. ^^; Oh well, I'll go there after my morning appt.

I apologize for the tl;dr. I want to remember today. ^.^

dinner at Cafe Zaiya

Since the press took over the cafe at Kinokuniya, Pearl-chan and I discovered another Cafe Zaiya near Book Off. The soba salad was yummy and Pearl-chan had spicy tuna rolls. We shared a greentea cake aftewards. Oishi! Arigato gozaimas, Pearl-chan for dinner! ^-^

2:20 pm ~ Status: excited ~ Listening to: office noise

Two half-days at work! ^.^

Since this friday was suppose to my day off and we already have the day off due to it being Thanksgiving weekend, I get to take half of today and tomorrow off. ^-^ This is perfect since I want to go to Kinokuniya today and tomorrow to see Inoue Takehiko-sensei! *dances around the office* Pearl-chan might drop by...so maybe I'll see her too. ^.^ I called the store in the morning to get some sort of idea of the schedule, but they don't have much of a schedule. <.<; There will be press conference from 4-6 today which I hope I'll be able to attend. I'm not press though.... ^^; And I hear that signing manga is not part of the schedule...but we'll see what happens!

If I can't get his autograph, I'll just take pics...if I'm allowed to. (Will take pics tomorrow since I don't have camera today. ^^;) If not, I just look forward to staring at the Slam Dunk legend, Inoue-sensei. *happy sigh*

wonders of wigs

I wore my wig to church yesterday and got some good compliments about it. "When did you cut your hair?" was the question of the day. Of course, staring at it some more would bring out the irregularities in the hair, but I hope to overcome that by distracting congoers with my ultra cute cat ears. ^.^ I think I'm getting used to wearing a wig...now if only I can get used to binding my chest.... <.<;

BTW, Diana will be cosplaying Domo-kun at Anime Festival this year. *cheers her on* This will be her first convention and first cosplay. I bought the fabric for her yesterday (since brown felt is hard to find in Qns.) and it will be delivered to her door by tonight.

Rai's fabric service! At your door in 24 hrs. or the first yard is free. Payable by cash, ice cream or pocky. ^.^

11/17/07 ~ Saturday 5:45 pm

Status: busy ~ Listening to: You are my Love (English ver.) - Tsubasa Chronicles OST

Ritsuka cosplay updates

Ritsuka - Loveless

I may or may not trim the back of the wig since it is kinda long. The wig itself is not a Ritsuka-type wig, but it will do. Due to the shape of my face, I doubt I'll be able to look natural in a Ristuka-type wig.

I tried on the wig with the rest of my outfit and decided to give myself a "B" for this cosplay. I don't have the bodytype to pull off such a cute boy cosplay (minus points.) Also, the wig and jacket is not perfect. For my efforts to stick as close as possible, I believe I have everything else.

I plan to cosplay bondage!Ristuka someday once I'm able to slim down more. I'm referring to the black outfit that Ritsuka and Soubi wears in the last scene of the opening sequence. *faints* Soubi + chains = too hot. ^.^ I was thinking about buying the chains and leather restraints, but decided to wait. First off, good leather restraints are pricy and second, Ristuka was not chained when he was wearing the blue jacket outfit (that I'm cosplay now.) Still, my Ristuka cosplays will never be up-to-par with my other cosplays. But I love the series and I don't care. ^-^

b-day plans

Since I'm not going away this year for my b-day (for reasons mentioned before,) my co-workers decided to celebrate with me on the tuesday of said date. At my choice, we'll be going for hotpot at Quickly in Chinatown. (Quickly has shabu shabu?!? O.o Never knew....) Pearl-chan mentioned that we could celebrate on the friday before said date, but I hope you can also come on tuesday. Whenever is more convenient for you guys. ^.^

Holiday wishlist ^^;

For the last two years, I've been asking my friends to give me a 10 item list from which I can figure out what presents to buy for Christmas. From the large list of people I ask, I always end up with about less then 10 responses. ^^; Oh well, those who respond will get what they want. Those who don't respond will get whatever comes out of my head. lol Here is this year's list.... ^.^

11/15/07 ~ Thursday 9:50 pm

Status: happy ~ Listening to: Daybreak's Bell - L'arc en ciel

and the saga continues...

My pastor went Taiwan and bought me vol. 16 and 17 of FMA! *hugs books and jumps around the room* lol My pastor is so nice, buying me pocky for conventions and manga from Taiwan...and I'm too spoiled. ^^; I might save the manga for the weekend since I'm super busy (as usual) with my unexpected convention planning and calendar creatings. ^.^ Or...I will read a little bit starting tonight.... ^^;

NOT ootoro?

I presented the pics of last week's Mitsuwa outing to my Japanese co-workers and gourmet foodies and discovered something interesting...the fish that we had last week might not have been ootoro afterall. How can we tell? Well, the natural color of ootoro is light pink and looks kinda like sliced beef with white lines running along it. (Think hotpot slices of beef.) The fish we had was too red. O.o So...what did we eat then? Hm...I have no idea, but the sashimi was yummy whatever it was. ^^; I still plan to go back to Mitsuwa. If that wasn't ootoro, I'm determined to find it next time! *stay positive*

Mangaka in NY!

Inoue Takehiko-sensei, the mangaka for Slam Dunk will be in Kinokuniya on 11/19! *faints* I want to see him! He will be painting a mural for the second floor of the new Kinokuniya. However, upon contacting the store, they don't have much info about it except that something will be going on on 11/20...but we don't know what time it will occur and what exactly will be going on. >.<; Signing? Meeting? Photos? Aiya.... I will be calling again tomorrow to check the schedule so that I can meet him. Of course, I will hit Book Off to pick up a copy of Slam Dunk for him to sign. Either way, I plan to be at Kinokuniya on both 11/19 and 11/20. ^.^

11/13/07 ~ Tuesday 2:20 pm

Status: excited ~ Listening to: office noise

I got it!

During my lunchtime, I stopped by Borders to get my manga. I ended up buying two mangas today since I didn't get Loveless the first time when I asked the sales rep. Me: Do you have Loveless vol. 7? It's not on the shelves.... Rep: Nope. Another shipment comes tomorrow. Me: *is sad* I found Gravitation EX vol. 1 and bought that since it had a color page. (Tokyopop is not consistent with their color pages. >.<) Since I really wanted the Loveless today, I went back to the sales rep. Me: I know it's not here, but can you plz check in the back? *puppyeyes* Rep: Wait here. Me: *waits* Rep: Here you go! Me: O.O *jumps around the store...not literally* ^.^ So happy....

The novel 'Ai no Kusabi' will be at Borders on Nov. 26 (streetdate is Nov. 20.) Of course, I'm buying it at that time. ^-^

1:25 am ~ Status: sleepy ~ Listening to: silence

*yawn*

Created a walkthrough for the Loveless game Love&Quiz, but I will not be uploading it online. I discovered all the endings and loved them. The creators stayed really close to the original characteristics and you can almost hear Ritsuka and Soubi saying the words. The info for the trivia questions is from the manga up to volume 6. A very well done game in all aspects.

So much for sleeping early.... ^^; One more thing...Loveless vol. 7 comes out today! *jumps silently in glee*

11/12/07 ~ Monday 11:15 pm

Status: amused ~ Listening to: Love&Quiz game BGM

Win Ritsuka over in 3 days!

I stumbled upon a fanmade Loveless simulation game that is surprisingly good: Love&Quiz. All info is on the site. There are 4 different endings, 3 of which I got so far. The ultra super special ending is the only one I haven't gotten yet. Still, its very good and you need to know Loveless trivia to get through the game. Hm...since it's so short, should I make a walkthrough? Never made one before, but it seems that I couldn't find one for the game. ^.^ BTW, the walkthrough for the special ending is on the site, though the answers to the quiz questions are not. I may just make one with directions to all the endings and quiz answers. ^.^ Credit of course will be given to the creators, Inma and Akane.

12:55 am ~ Status: mischievous ~ Listening to: Valkyrie Profile fmvs on tv

when having a big chest is a bad thing

My blue jacket for my Ritsuka cosplay is done! The white trim is perfect even though the fabric of the jacket is different then the original. I just need to do 3 more things, exercise so that I can tone my tummy and legs...figure out how to wear a wig...and bind my chest. *sigh* This is the first time I'm not happy to have such a well developed torso. ^^; It's not that my assets are bigger then others, its just that they are large enough that crossplaying (cosplaying opposite gender) would not be as easy if I had Fujioka Haruhi's assets. ^^; (I know the readers of this post are facepalming right now. ^.^) *headdesk* Okay, time to sleep. Another addition to my to-do list: must sleep to rid myself of pimples and black circles. ^-^

11/11/07 ~ Sunday 4:40 pm

Status: busy ~ Listening to: Why - Dream (Inuyasha OST)

ootoro and green tea ice cream

Yesterday, I met up with animemiz and Aya at the shuttle stop to Mitsuwa. The first thing we did when we got there was stop by Mars New York (an Japanese toy, accessories, etc. store) and then head to the main attraction: the presentation and cutting of the giant tuna. How giant? Please refer to the pic below. Please note the size of the guy and the fish on the table....

I forgot how many pounds it was, but it was LARGE. They talked about where the fish breeds, what they ate etc...and proceeded to cut up the fish. It was so big that the guy had to get on the table to saw at the fish. O.o

They only sold fish in two ways: sushi (7 pieces for $9,) or in cuts (price varies depending on lbs and type of cut.) The head (my fav part of fish) was sold separately. Ano, please bypass the pic below if you don't like to look at fish heads.... ^^;

The atama was sold at the reasonable price of $30. o.O If I had a car and a pot the size of a barrel, I would have bought the head and had yummy fish head soup for the rest of the month. ^^; Animemiz bought a cut (no idea what kind) and we went to look for our lunch. I bought shrimp tempura udon which was yummy. I plan to hit the ramen place next time. After I finished eating, I went back to the tuna area and bought Fujioka Haruhi's fav food in Ouran Highschool Host Club: ootoro aka. fatty tuna belly...the most expensive/delicious part of the fish. It was a small piece so the price was within my budget. ^.^

They couldn't slice up the fish since they were too busy so Aya and I proceeded to mutilate the fish with our chopsticks in our attempts to separate it into 3 pieces. ^^; (Pics were taken of our attempts, but I will not post them since sashimi aficionados and my Japanese co-workers will certainly strangle me for mangling such a delicacy. ^^;) Conclusion? Oishi! ^__^ I will bring my mini knife next time...if I can find another ootoro cut that is not $30+.

After enjoying our ootoro, we went to the supermarket area and browsed for drinks and snacks. I bought peach flavored Calpico with Hello Kitty on the bottle (also holding a Calpico bottle ^.^) and green tea mochi ice cream to share. Animemiz bought a variety of Japanese flavored Kitkats. The mochi ice cream was delicious (as expected) and we went back to the toystore for more browsing. Someone was waiting outside the bookstore with a minature poodle and the dog was so friendly that even before I knelt down, he was jumping about. He ended up climbing on my lap and licked my hands...kawaii! Animemiz and Aya got the same treatment. ^.^

After Jilly and Ananda arrived, we went back to the food court for their lunch (or breakfast ^^;) and I bought green tea ice cream. I wanted to buy taiyaki (fish shaped bread filled with red bean or cream) but I would have to wait for an hour due to all the orders. After the second meal, we went to Sanseido bookstore to check out books and J-drama video tapes. You read correctly, they had VHS. O.o We stopped by the toystore again (that place had so much stuff ^.^) and then waited for the shuttle back to the city. The wait was kinda long, but we were quite content with our DS lites. ^.^ (Note to self: flash card games cannot be shared.)

Hello Kitty and Thai food

We didn't know what to do back at Port Authority so we took pics.

lol I got in line as well. One of the statues in the front had a Starbucks in her bag...and animemiz wanted Starbucks (not because of the statue. ^.^) We were walking to a Starbucks (that was hopefully not crowded) when Jilly and I saw the Hello Kitty store. Of course, we had to go in. I give props to the only guy in our group who didn't mind yaoi and Hello Kitty. ^.^ Ananda left and we paid for our stuff. Turns out that a Hello Kitty float will be in the this year's Thanksgiving Day parade.

Since I was hungry, we decided to go uptown to Pearl-chan's restaurant on 1st Ave. After we went past our stop and ended up in Qns, we rode back and walked to the restaurant, but not before stopping by Starbucks so animemiz can fulfill her craving for passion tea with ice. The food was so yummy and I loved the curry puffs. Oishi! *drools in thought* ^.^ There was no more green tea ice cream but I had vanilla ice cream with fried banana while the others had cheesecake and fruit. We talked for such a long time that we stayed until Pearl-chan closed the store and we walked to the subway station together.

I took a late train and got home around 2:30am. I gave okaasan orchids (arigato to Pearl-chan for getting them for me ^.^) and mini tirimisu cakes for her b-day. It was an enjoyable day. I hope we can go back to Mitsuwa with P-chan and Pearl-chan next time. ^-^ More ootoro!

11/10/07 ~ Saturday 12:10 am

Status: hyper ~ Listening to: Let Me Be With You - Chobits OP

more plans...more money ^^;

I'm going to Mitsuwa with animemiz and co. tomorrow. It has been assumed that Pearl-chan and P-chan will not be going. I never been there so it will be an interesting experience. ^.^

I also decided to go to AnimeFestival...and bought the $200 VIP ticket. ^^; This will most likely be a one time thing since I know I will not be able to afford such a ticket next year. (Otakon's hotel is $$$. >.<) For this year, I will enjoy an unexpected con and will probably stay at okaasan's friend's apartment at 50 something street. My cosplays? Kimono sunday, Kikyo and Ritsuka. ^.^ This will also be my b-day gift to myself since I will not be traveling out of state this year. (Also because of Otakon's hotel price. >.<) Now...I must shower and get ready for tomorrow! ^.^

11/9/07 ~ Friday 5:20 pm

Status: tummy full ~ Listening to: me typing

on my day off...

Still don't know if I'm going to Mitsuwa...will call Pearl-chan again and ask. Took okaasan out for her birthday lunch today at Minado's so I'm really stuffed right now, even though lunch was 3 hrs. ago. ^^; My amazon order of mangas, 'Dear Myself' by Eiki Eiki and 'Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories' boxset came today. ^__^ They told me that 'World's End' by Eiki Eiki will be delayed...might be until Jan. '08. >.< Started reading 'KH: Chain' and it's so cute. *happy sigh*

another con?

I'm thinking about going to NY Anime Festival in early Dec. They have two really expensive VIP packages, the pricier one includes face to face convos with Speed Racer legends (Peter Fernandez included.) O.O Besides all the goodies included, VIP passes can bypass all lines. *.* Because of that...I'm thinking about going and paying $150 or $200 for the tickets. *collapses* I haven't used up my con budget for this year yet (at least I don't think so ^^;) so it should be alright...though next years Otakon hotel will be very expensive.... *thinks*

The idea is awesome though. ^.^ No waiting on lines for autographs...or badges...I want to go as VIP! If I do go...this will be my plan. Some ppl from TACC will be going...so it's within a possibility. *runs off to talk to oneechanx2*

12:55 am ~ Status: accomplished

Inuyasha 2008 calendar up!

As requested by larkspur, I created an Inuyasha themed calendar to go with the Sesshomaru one. Finding solo Inuyasha pics was hard since Kagome shows up in so many of them. So...this set will have alot of Kagome appearances and one by Kikyo. I tried.... After working with all these pics, I realize that my photoshop skills still need much improvement. My words need improvement too. ^^;

Yes, I realize that my March and April phrases are almost the same. Perhaps if she mixes up the calendars, choosing her fav from each set, it won't be as bad.... ^^; Larkspur's b-day and Doraemon's b-day is included like before. To check out the calendar, click here. Must try harder...but first sleep. -.-Zzz

11/8/07 ~ Thursday 12:45 am

Status: sleepy ~ Listening to: Trinity Blood on tv

Saturday plans

My co-workers want to go to Rockefeller for ice skating and food aftewards. Animemiz is planning to go to Mitsuwa in NJ. Hm...choices, choices. I want to go to Mitsuwa since I never been there...at least I think I never did. ^^; Also, it's the haven for Japanese food and Japanime stuff. P-chan has plans already that involve soap and acres of clothing. Pearl-chan, will you be going? We'll most likely be back before she goes to work in the evening.... Will consider this when I'm more awake. ^.^

11/6/07 ~ Tuesday 9:50 pm

Status: hungry ~ Listening to: Annai Isshodattanoni - Gundam Seed ED

back to sewing

My activities have been switching between working on my calendars and making my cosplay spear. I've also taken up a new cosplay task: sewing my blue jacket for Ritsuka cosplay. ^.^ In the first episode and other subsequent episodes, Ritsuka has a blue jacket with white edges. I bought a similar jacket and am sewing a white edge onto it. (If I were to buy the actual cosplay jacket, it would cost $55 from China and $100+ from Japan. >.<) The jacket is 'similar' to the original since the edge of the sleeves are not the same and the material is obviously different. However, this is the closest to the anime that I have found.

I plan to wear the jacket to the office when I'm done. ^.^ Ano..without the ears and tail of course.

11/4/07 ~ Sunday 7:40 pm

Status: thoughtful ~ Listening to: Kiseki - Boa

'Love Prism' inquiry

What I enjoyed most about Tohjoh Asami-sensei's works was that she had a wide range to her stories. Sweet shonenai in 'Taiyou ni Nurete' to yaoi torture in 'Indulgent Tyrant'. One of the most hardcore yaoi that I ever read was 'Love Prism'. Incest, rape, torture...straws.... >.< Unfortunately, only 1 volume was scanlated and I had a hard time trying to find more info about the continuation...since the story does not end there. I renewed my efforts after the sad news of last week. I finally contacted the scanlation group that did the first volume. From what I understood, the going rumor was that since 'Love Prism' was so hardcore, they decided to only scanlate vol. 1. My only request was for any info concerning the continuation so that I may be able to find/buy the next book. Their response was quick and short: 'Unfortunately, it doesn't exist. It never did. That's why we can't continue the scanlation.' *sad* I wrote a short thank you in my reply.

Tohjoh-sensei was so ill that she couldn't see. The sadness came from the hope that she was recovering, being able to draw again. 'Love Prism' came out in 2006. Maybe she has some conclusion, but it has not been published yet. Of course, any of her new works or continuations will not be published any time soon. I'm still not completely recovered from this, but I feel strong enough to function normally at work tomorrow. Afterall, my co-workers covered for me last week. Arigato to my co-workers.

11/3/07 ~ Saturday 1:25 am EDIT

Status: touched ~ Listening to: silence

work related

I show my emotions very easily so my co-workers could tell I was down. Being who they are, they didn't pry and left me alone with my thoughts (which was a good thing.) Yesterday, I sent out an e-mail in apology for dragging personal problems to work. Since today I didn't feel much better, I left work early after an appt.

Gold names on the wall...'P-chan was here.' ^^;

Our haunted house expedition was cancelled due to the prospect of bad weather. Might as well since my mind might not be able to handle the intense sadness and the onslaught of terror all at once.

I met up with P-chan at the Egg Custard King Cafe in Chinatown. By that time, I already had an egg custard with hot milk tea. P-chan ordered hot milk tea as well and got hot chocolate for me as we waited for Pearl-chan to be done with work and finish buying manga at Borders. (30% coupon for the win! ^.^)

We were meeting Pearl-chan at Bookoff, but we arrived early. We dropped in at the NY Library and I proceeded to look for the Winnie the Pooh plushies as P-chan slide on the smooth floors. ^^; We graduated college...yes we did. I found out that the plushies moved to another branch in the city. Guess I'll go there next time.... FYI, no flash photograph is allowed in the library. Our visit to the library ended with us staring at the names on the columns. *singing* 'John Jacob Jingle...' <.<;

bookstore hopping and desserts

Pearl-chan greeted us in Bookoff with a bag of Thai ice tea and dessert. As usual, I headed straight for the yaoi section. I didn't buy anything but Pearl-chan did. During that time, Alby-kun called since I wanted to see if he was going to the haunted house before. Afterwards, we headed over to the new Kinokuniya that opened nearby (after stopping at New Balance to look at really expensive sneakers for Pearl-chan. ^^;)

The new store had alot more space then the old one. It also featured a cafe upstairs. After some shopping, we went to the cafe to eat and rest. By that time, the tea and dessert bag (that I was holding) was already leaking ice tea. The dessert was yummy coconut rice with mango. Pearl-chan ordered black tea (which was yummy) and BLT sandwiches from the cafe. Suddenly, Pearl-chan's friends, Jilly and her posse of 4 appeared.

Seems that bookstore hopping is Jilly and crew's usual friday activity. We struck up a convo about Otakon, cosplay, work and school. Linda aka. animemiz (the hyper girl I met at Otakon ^.^) is actually getting two master degrees. *bows to her awesomeness* After they finished eating, they went back to shopping. Their motto was to stay "until they kick us out, and then we'll go to Asahiya until they kick us out." ^.^ Our own plans were deciding if we're going to eat dinner and whether or not we were going ice skating (at Bryant Park) or go see a horror movie. We decided to forego dinner and go straight for more dessert at the cafe. At P-chan's insistence, she ordered green tea cake for me and chocolate mousse with vanilla ice cream for Pearl-chan. Pearl-chan also ordered jasmine green tea. Everything was yummy. ^.^

At the 8pm store closing, we decided to forego the movie and ice skating and just join Jilly and crew in their trip to Asahiya. I haven't been in Asahiya in a loooong time since the trek is farther from the subway then Bookoff. (Also, discounted manga is better than full price. ^.^) We were joined by another of Jilly's friends and more browsing ensued. I checked out Be-Boy Gold magazine (a monthly yaoi anthology) and saw the next chapter of 'Bitter' by Minami Haruka-sensei. *fangirl squeal* Jilly bought the magazine afterwards. Asahiya closed at 9pm and Jilly and crew minus Linda decided to hit Borders. P-chan, Linda and I escorted Pearl-chan to the express bus and the rest of us took the subway to home. (Me to Flushing since okaasan was in Flushing.)

PM to P-chan and Pearl-chan

Arigato to P-chan and Pearl-chan for a wonderful day. You guys cheered me up alot.

Early release?

I found something unexpected at Kinokuniya: the english edition of FMA novel 5 that was suppose to come out in Dec. 18. O.O Though the words 'vol. 5' was not on the cover, I recognized it since the publisher is Viz and the cover pic was the one from the pre-order. The question is, why is it out now? Was it an early release? The date of release on amazon.com is still 12/18. O.o Wow...Kinokuniya got the book over a month early. I'm still going to wait since I want to save 25% when the book finally comes out in Borders. ^-^ (Also, I plan to buy other manga this month. ^^;)

11/1/07 ~ Thursday 1:30 am

Status: sad ~ Listening to: silence

news of Tohjoh Asami

BL mangaka Tohjoh Asami passed away. A translation of the Japanese notice was placed on a yaoi forum:

'Popular BL artist TOUJO ASAMI has passed away due to illness. her works, which include [LOVE PRISM] and a number of other manga and drama CD titles, will continue to be republished posthumously. however, we regret to inform everyone that works that are yet to be published will be put on hold.'

It was posted on many lj communities as well as yaoisuki. Scanlations group, Hackthemainstream also weighs in with this notice. I don't know exactly when she died, but the news were up since 10/31/07. She was one of my fav mangaka and I'll be one of many who will be mourning.