Colored Ink
|
miss something? check the archives about me name: n/aaliases: kit, kits, kit kat, the smart girl, foxay, an chin age: 18 location: oakland, ca hobbies: anime, manga, reading, writing, doodling, video games, french horn likes: all of the above, being lazy, mushrooms, cheese, animals, laughing loudly in public dislikes: nuts, stinging/biting insects, religious fanatics, violence, olives contact: coloredink@mailcity add .com wishlist playstation 2car a good night's sleep money stress-free life trigun long colt keychain cowboy bebop dvd box set realistic wishlist dayworld by philip josé farmerkabuki by david mack long-term obsessions anime/mangayaoi/shounenai writing music animals life and living current obsession(s) triguncurrently reading the gunslinger by stephen kingthe last unicorn by peter beagle currently watching hana yori dango (20)utena (23) gto tv (39) witch hunter robin (18) naruto (45) get backers (27) rose of versailles (19) matantei loki ragnarok (15) scrapped princess (11) peacemaker kurogane (3) shingetsutan tsukihime (3) fullmetal alchemist (4) |
Wednesday, November 5, 2003 [link] 01:36 p.m. listening to: nothing AAAAAAAAAARGH. "[The bill] also contains no exception clause to cover cases where the mother's health is at risk or the child would be born with serious problems." EXCUSE ME? "Supporters of the bill argue that it applies only to a procedure done late in pregnancy - and relatively rarely - and that the procedure is never necessary to protect the health of the mother." Okay, okay, it's done relatively rarely; I'll concede you that. Maybe, like, 1% - 2% of all abortions are late-term or partial-birth abortions. But the procedure is never necessary to protect the health of the mother? That, my friend, is complete bullshit. I'd say more on this if I didn't have to go to class right now. Boy, am I steamed. Monday, November 3, 2003 [link] 11:06 p.m. listening to: ditto And on a lighter note, the fruit of my attempts to get a cellphone today. So, my wonderful cousin drives all the way from Brisbane (across the Bay) to take me to get a cellphone in San Leandro. We manage to get only slightly lost, locate the Verizon store, and it takes me all of ten minutes to pick a phone and a plan. Then we run into a hitch: I need an ID. I do not have a driver's license. I do not drive. I do not have a state-issued ID. I applied for one three weeks ago. Okay. Well, my cousin can get the phone and the plan in his name and transfer it to me. But, of course, that means we have to be absolutely sure that the credit check will go through. Do I have credit? Why, yes! I got my card a month ago! What's that you say? I haven't built any credit because I've only paid one bill, and I need to have paid at least four or five? Well, I'm sorry, I guess I can't get a phone, then! RAR. But we had tasty Korean barbecue. Monday, November 3, 2003 [link] 10:33 p.m. listening to: So. I go to a women's college. I like going to a women's college. I like how there aren't any loud or noisy frat boys (or any loud or noisy sorority girls), how there are lots of assertive, go-get-em women around here, the non-competitive environment, and I've learned some really amazing things from really amazing people. There are men on campus. The graduate program is co-ed by law, and there are men living in one of the residence halls. Lately, it seems, the men are feeling rather excluded, maybe even discriminated against. There was a meeting about it today involving RCO (which I'm a part of), and you know what? It was really delightful how all the women there jumped to the mens' defense. It wasn't until I got out of the meeting and was talking to Kim on the way back that we really looked at and discussed both sides of the issue. Most of this was sparked by what some termed a "hateful" letter printed in the newspaper--which, when I read it, didn't seem terribly hateful at all. Very opinionated, yes. Strongly worded, yes. Maybe a bit radical. Nothing warranting "disciplinary action," as one of the men wanted. If this were a more male-dominated campus, I wonder, would the men be so willing to jump to the women's defense if they felt they were being discriminated against? I see both sides of the situation here. I mean, of course there are a lot of women who came here because it was a women's college. Most of these women don't hate men, they just want to be in an all-women environment for a while. Some women came here because they, for some reason, dislike men and want to get away from them for a while. And I can see how the latter would be upset at the relatively large number of men on campus. But, I mean, it's not like Mills is keeping it a secret that there are men on campus and men in some of the classes. If you did your research--and particularly if you visited the school--then you know that there are men here. And you know what? There are men outside, too. There is no field, no career, on Earth, that you can go into where you will be free from contact with men. I'm sorry. Get used to it. At the same time, the men need to wake up and smell the coffee. Feeling excluded? Being discriminated against? What? Oppressed? No! That sort of thing just doesn't happen, now does it? Women have never been excluded, discriminated against, or oppressed. Out of all the men that attended the meeting, maybe one of them was not a WASP. Okay, actually, I can't really say anything about the P part of that acronym, but still; they were distinctly White Men, talking about discrimination and taking "disciplinary action" against this girl who dared to send her--granted, rather radical--opinion to the school newspaper. I feel like I'm living in some sort of satire. Or perhaps a farce. I don't want to bash men or anything, but I think the main reason they're getting so much support from women about their situation is because women know what it's like to be discriminated against. And, you know, I'm not saying the men should be discriminated against, and I think they should be included. Equal rights for all. But at the same time, I think this is good for them. If even one of them remembers that he was a minority once and how he had to fight for equal footing, and does something because of that, then I'll have considered this entire ordeal well worth it. After all, college is all about getting an education, right? Monday, November 3, 2003 [link] 03:23 p.m. listening to: "Ave Maria" - Libera Quick to-do list: - read (about) Book of Job - figure out schedule for next semester - eat dinner - attend Monday Night RAP - attend RCO meeting - sleep I've decided that I'm going to learn Chinese before I learn Japanese. It's something of a struggle, because I was so sure that I was just going to take Japanese and be done with it--but I think that, in the long haul, it'll be a good thing. There's really no reason for me to not learn how to speak and read Chinese fluently (considering that I already speak it semi-fluently), and it should make it easier for me to learn how to speak/read Japanese fluently, especially since I've got all my hiragana and katakana memorized anyway. And then I'll be able to speak three languages, and maybe I'll be able to do translation work do pay the bills. Really, I'm just giving myself more career opportunities. Right? Right? Now, though, I have more questions. For one thing, Mandarin or Cantonese? It would be easier for me to learn Mandarin, because that's what I speak, but Cantonese is more useful in the States because more people speak Cantonese. However, Mandarin is the official language of China. Hrm. I hope I can find a Chinese for Chinese Speakers class. Because, uh, I'm going to be bored stiff if I have to take a class for non-speakers. Saturday, November 1, 2003 [link] 04:57 p.m. listening to: "Raining in Baltimore" - Counting Crows So today, Jackie and I went to Oakland Chinatown for a bit of grocery shopping. Or, more appropriately, I dragged her with me, as I didn't want to go by myself. ^^ So we took the Mills van (which is running free this year) to the Rockridge BART station and then took it to 12th Street and Broadway. We found a Wells Fargo, Jackie was able to deposit her check and withdraw some cash, and then we crossed the street and began to make our way down the few blocks it would take to get us to the Chinese grocery stores. On 10th street, there was a small group of people huddled around an old Chinese man who lay on the ground with blood streaming down his face. "There's nothing we can do," I said to Jackie after a few uneasy moments. Of course we both wanted to do something, but there were already people on cellphones. What else could we do? So we turned to go on. "I hope they can get him to understand that he needs to lie down," I said, after we'd gone a few steps. I turned to look; the old man seemed to be trying to get up. "He shouldn't be moving." "Maybe you can talk to him," Jackie said. I paused. In all my years of attempting to communicate with other Asians, we inevitably don't speak the same dialect. I don't know why. Mandarin is the official language of China; it is the language of the upper-class. But maybe that's why all the Asians in America seem to speak Cantonese. "He probably speaks Cantonese," I said, but I turned around and went back anyway. He looked pretty bad; he was conscious and didn't seem to be in a great deal of pain, but that may have been due more to the shock than anything else. His glasses had cut into his face, and blood streamed steadily from his nose. Some people had given him tissues and gauze pads and things, but they weren't doing much good. There were several small puddles of blood. "Sir," I said--many people who know Cantonese can often understand Mandarin, though they may not speak it--"Please, lie down. Stay still. They--" I couldn't remember the word for "hospital." "--they've called a doctor. The doctor is coming soon." He seemed to understand me; at least, he seemed a lot more disposed to stay on the ground instead of getting up, anyway. Where was the ambulance? I found that although many people around had tried on their cellphones, they couldn't get through to 911. What the hell? It's a sad day when you can't get through to 911. I told Jackie to run to one of the nearby buildings; when she came back, she told me a restaurant nearby had already called for an ambulance. Now that people knew I could speak Chinese, they were full of questions for me. Did I know his family? Did I know anyone they could contact? Could I contact the Chinese consulate (this last one puzzled me; I didn't see how that would accomplish anything)? No, no, I said. I was new here; I didn't know anything. "Tell him I need to take his pulse," said a security guard nearby. I stalled. I don't think I'd ever learned the word for pulse; not in Chinese, anyway. I couldn't remember the word for "heart," either. Kokoro? No, that's Japanese. Dammit. "Just tell him to stay still, then," the guard suggested, and I related this to the old man. The guard took his pulse and said it felt pretty damn erratic. Fortunately, the paramedics pulled up at this moment, and I got myself and Jackie out of the way. Best to let the professionals handle this. Sometimes, just being able to speak a little bit helps. I've told a father that it wasn't his daughter's fault that a strange man exposed himself to her on the street. I've helped a family fill out their provisional ballots so that they can vote. I hope I was able to help in some small way, just by telling an old man that he should lie still, because the ambulance is coming. It's times like this that I wonder if I really want to learn Japanese. Shouldn't I learn my native language first? It'd certainly be easier if I knew Chinese and then went on to learn Japanese, especially since I've already memorized all my hiragana and katakana. I'm just selfish, that's all. I want to learn Japanese to benefit myself. But my Chinese can benefit others. Saturday, November 1, 2003 [link] 12:02 a.m. listening to: big honkin' playlist It's a bit early for Thanksgiving, but I thought I'd say that I'm immensely grateful anyway. It seems a little strange to me, at times, that I'm extremely content with my life. Everyone else around me seems to have some sort of drama going on in their lives, from college applications to financial troubles to not-having-a-date-this-weekend. Nobody's ever satisfied with what they've got--and yet, I am. Is that bad? Should I be more ambitious? Should I be more dissatisfied? Should I be constantly saying, "This can't be all, I must strive for more"? Of course, that just brings to mind several Calvin and Hobbes strips. Namely, the one in which Calvin asks Hobbes, "If you could wish for anything, what would you wish for?" Hobbes replies, "A sandwich." Calvin is disgusted with such a simplistic answer--and yet, who ends up getting his wish, anyway? I guess my life could be better in a lot of ways. I could, for example, have a home to go back to (but that's a subject for another entry, I suspect). I could have an actual job. I could be a published author. I could win the lottery tomorrow. But, you know, there are an awful lot of ways my life could be a lot worse. I could be working my way through college. I could be sending money back to my family to support them. I could be listening to gunshots outside my window each and every day. I could be fighting for basic, human civil rights. I could be hungry. I could have cancer. So, I'd say I'm pretty damn satisfied with my life right now. I'm attending a semi-prestigious liberal arts college. I'm getting a good education, and I'm not paying a single penny for it. My needs and wants are taken care of. I have a surfeit of loving friends and relatives. I do not have a single physical or mental disability to combat. I could even say I'm happy, but that's such a subjective word--what's left, when you're already happy? Where can you go from there? To go off on a semi-related tangent, everyone please shut up about the fucking fire. Yes, I know SoCal's on fire. I read the fucking news. But please, stop going on and on about how your beloved possessions are burning. Is your family okay? Are you okay? That is really all that is important. Your room at home full of sentimental crap means nothing in the long run. You can't take it with you. Those who have evacuated were, I'm sure, able to take what was really important with them. Your hopes and dreams are not contained in a building, they're contained in you. Property is one thing; human lives are another. Anyway. It just frustrates me, sometimes, when people don't seem to have perspective. We all live and learn, I guess, and everyone sees things a little differently. But sometimes, when I listen to someone whine about their (in)significant other or lack thereof, or about how they got a C on their midterm, or how homesick they are, it just makes me a little weary of the world. These things are important, yeah--I know I'd be pretty upset if I got a C on my midterm--but people have to realize that this isn't all that is important. You're just going to make yourself miserable that way, if all you focus on are the little bad things in your life. Or the not-so-little. (Also, the Trigun keychain I bought at Y-con snapped in half today while I was trying to clean it off. This pisses me off because now I have to replace it again.) Thursday, October 30, 2003 [link] 06:51 p.m. listening to: nothing I feel like death warmed over. I'm allergic to some kinds of nuts; namely, cashews and pistachios. I don't stop breathing or anything if I eat them, but they make me very sick. I pretty much go out of my way to avoid eating them, but they keep cropping up in places I don't expect them to be, like in my snacks. So, earlier today I was helping set up a Halloween carnival type thing for little kids in the courtyard today. I set myself in charge of one of the food tables, laying out cookies on napkins. I ate a cookie. I put out some more cookies. I ate another cookie, which I thought was shortbread. It turned out to be pistachio (or cashew, but I think it was pistachio). I staggered upstairs, threw up, took some medicine, and went back down. Everyone was terrific and kept asking if I was okay. And I was. For a while. Then my stomach started hurting (a sign that I haven't actually voided my stomach and there's something in there that's still bothering me), I went upstairs, threw up some more, then crawled into bed and stayed there. I managed to doze a little and I threw up some more, so I think my stomach's finally empty. It's not hurting me as much anymore, anyway. Ugh. Tuesday, October 28, 2003 [link] 09:04 p.m. listening to: "Find the River" - R.E.M. OMG I GOT A 98 ON MY BIBLE AS LITERATURE MIDTERM. OMG OMG OMG. **runs around in circles until she falls over** Tuesday, October 28, 2003 [link] 10:41 a.m. listening to: nothing How's everyone in SoCal doing? The news tells me that half a million acres are scorched. Don't go outside if you can avoid it, okay? Don't drive. Wear masks or wet towels tied around your noses and mouths. Try not to breathe in too much smoke. Don't worry about material things. In the end, you can't take it with you. Just keep yourselves safe. |
blogs better than mine friends ambercathrine dagger gen kelsey nick walker ppl i wish were my friends dave barrynatalie neil gaiman otherpeople places to go shameless plugs blue tumbleweedscasm colored ink hogwarts post rpg role-play network the book my side7 gallery notus bebhinn friends book of genismhanaeda's corner lost intent shike.org snag studios pirates' alley ex-technomancy productions willf.org yaoiville non-friends bishoneninkcasualvillain.com crimson tears firecat fanfics hanashika.com impossible kitsch mooncalf oki doki rabi's headquarters scribbled spaghetti sekai seifuku the void tourniquet twoflowerian fiction comics boy meets boyboondocks something positive bruno badly drawn kitties grayling scary go round penny arcade faux pas jack saturnalia suburban jungle mac hall better days bohemials arcana nine swords eidolic fringe vinci and arty kagerou [mirror] fallen strings of fate sexy losers sabrina other cool sites anime news networkanimesuki anipike dictionary.com explodingdog elfwood epilogue gamefaqs glasseyecomics kekkai.org livejournal nerve.com orisinal otakuworld side7 themeworld the onion toriyama world yerf zany video game quotes i owe my stress to pitas.com |