anata wa tokyo ga suki desu ka?

Woohoo, I'm back amid the people who speak English 100% of the time and that eat cheese and drink root beer. Ah, it's good to be home. Except... I really miss Tokyo. I had the time of my life there, and I want to get back to it as soon as humanly possible. If I had known how much I would have loved it, I would have fought harder to go to Ritsumeikan sophomore year.. but I may not have come back, so maybe it's not a bad thing.

The plane ride back wasn't anything exceptional, save that I slept very little and was twitchy and somewhat cranky the whole way back. I don't want to see another airport for months. I don't want to go through another stupid security check for months. I wonder if I can write the President and just tell him that I never ever intend to blow up a plane and if I can have a note that excuses me. If he wasn't surrounded by so many smart people, it might actually work.

But I slept all day today, and all of yesterday from about 5pm on. I was so brain dead on Thursday that I couldn't even remember my own name. And you think I'm kidding. Heee... but Mom and Kat liked what I got for them (they both wore their yukatas tonight! *twirls*). Now I just need to get my pictures developed.

I absolutely adore Kenneth Branagh. I want to marry him. Like right now.

And another thing, the US needs to get more into soccer. I want to watch the World Cup, goddammit. And I don't have ESPN. Of ALL the years for mom to cancel the extended cable. GRRR.

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 00:24 on 8th June, 2002

thank god for the irish... no really...

Hehe, okay, It's 11:30pm here, and I'm more than a little drunk (first time in my life, yes I'm so sad...), so I apologize if this doesn't make a lot of sense. I'm trying, really I am.

Today, we went to Minka-en, which is this set of reconstructed Japanese houses from all over the country. There were several farmhouses, an old kabuki stage (we got to go underneath the building and see where the stagehands would turn the stage -- they were very short, but very strong, it took four guys to move the stage), an old shrine, and several buildings that were declared national treasures by the Japanese government and other prefectural governments. We had a great time, it was all very interesting to see how the Japanese lived during the olden times. ^_^

After that, we hopped on the train to Shinjuku, where we found the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. This may not mean much to some people, but according to CLAMP, the Antichrist and several other people live there. ^^ It looks kind of like Notre Dame, but with a more modern and simplistic flair. It's a really cool building.

We were going to visit the Diet Building, but I was so tired by the time we got back to Alexis' house (we'd planned on going, but neither of us knew where it was, so we went back to Alexis' house to check, and ended up staying put) that we just kind of chilled, had dinner, and then got ready to go out and watch the soccer games.

First, we went to an Irish pub about a block from Alexis' house, I can't remember what it's called, but I have the matchbook from it. We watched the United States play Portugal in the World Cup. It was a very exciting game, but the pub was filled with older people, and not many people our age. We each had a Killkenny beer, because they'll kick you out if you're not drinking something. I finished mine, Alexis drank half of hers. When the US won, we had a tequila shot each and the bartender didn't charge us. Nice guy. ^^

After the Irish pub, we kind of wandered over to Hub's, which is an English pub that Alexis used to go to in high school. This place was full of Englishmen and other gaijin, but it was much more fun than the Irish one. The people in Hub's were much more energetic. So, we watched the Germany vs. Ireland soccer game, and I met a nice Englishman named Ian from Birming'am (not Birmingham, as he was quick to point out), who answered my questions about soccer and I really had a nice time talking to. ^^ At one point, I thought he was going to buy me a pint of Guiness, but I ended up paying for it myself. (buuuu...) But when the Irish tied Germany at the end, he did buy me one in celebration. Yay, much fun trying to finish that one. I felt obligated to, since it wasn't my money. Heee...

Apparently, the English and the Germans don't like each other when it comest to soccer. They beat the Germans 5 to 1 in order to qualify for the World Cup, and it's a bit of a rallying point for them. The guys in Hub's were singing a whole bunch of pro-England songs (three of which I know, I still can't understand the lyrics to "God Save the Queen" or "Oh Britannia"), I don't think they realized the English weren't actually playing. XD Alexis met these two American guys who seemed very nice, but I had a better time with "my Englishman", Ian. ^^

After that, we went to Starbucks, had a scone because Alexis said carbohydrates are good for absorbing alcohol, and then came back to Alexis' house. Where I am currently, updating this blog. I'll be home tomorrow, tonight was my last night in Japan (;_;), and after I sleep off my jet lag and hangover, I'll have a summary of how the trip went for me. But suffice to say, I had an absolutely wonderful time. ^_^

For all of you who've read all these updates, I hope you've enjoyed seeing what I've been up to, and for those of you who didn't like the long entries, I'm sorry, but I had to document it somehow. ^_^ See you all when I get back to Rochester tomorrow afternoon. Take care. ^_^

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 23:33 on 5th June, 2002

alexis thought i'd get lost... pshaw...

When I get home, I'm so making a new layout... I'll bet you can't guess what series will be the inspiration. *heavy sarcasm*

Hey lookie, an update on the same day as the activity! Who knew I could do it?

But first, just a little social:

Lins, I think you have a good plan there. Go for it, I wish you all the luck. ^_^

Ohime-sama, I'm glad you have a job that you like and that you've been getting some nice things lately. (Including the postcard, muwahahahaha) And woohoo for John Lithgow!!

Okay, on to what I was up to today. We'd planned to go to Nikko, which is the old Tokugawa shogun's summer palace, but Alexis finally got hit with jet lag and was falling asleep at the breakfast table, so we didn't do that. I totally understood, I'm surprised I haven't done that yet. So instead, we went out to lunch with Mr. Reuben and Alexis' grandmother.

Nadia is seriously the coolest lady. I'd love to be her grandkid... she kept telling Alexis to let me go to Akihabara by myself, because Alexis was nervous about letting me off all alone. I wanted to go back to the bookstore, and I didn't want to drag her along to go manga shopping, so I wanted to make it easy for everyone and just go alone. (which I did end up doing, but that's a little later)

So we went to lunch in Nihonbashi, near Takashimaya and where Mr. Reuben's bank is. It was this little fish place, and I had buri (some white fish), pickles, miso soup, tea and rice. Yum yum, I could live on miso soup and rice, love it so much.

After lunch, we split up, and Bridgie headed to Akihabara. I got on the train, got my ticket, and got to the bookstore without any problem. And what did I buy? More Kohri of course. ^^ I picked up a few of the early volumes (2-4 -- Blood freaking Sergi out is so funny... I like Sergi, he's cool. Anna, this is all your fault) and then 13-16. So in total, I have 2-4,13-20 and 21 comes out on June 20th. I'm going to see if I can finagle a deal with Sasuga to get it ASAP. Need to know what happened. (Anna, did the poor dear just snap? I got part of what he was yelling at Amashi about, but what did he finally decide to do?)

I also managed to pick up this absolutely gorgeous Kohri print set, it has about ten 11x17 color pictures, AND a Blood paper doll... nehehehe... I'm going to have way too much fun with that one. As soon as I can get my hands on a scanner, I'll go to town (I might sneak into work with Mommie on Friday and use one of theirs -- these pictures need to be seen, dammit... I should make a page.)

I got back to Roppongi at about 3:30pm, an no one was home, so I sat outside and read my books until Mrs. Reuben got back from her meeting and let me in. Alexis and Nadia returned around 5-ish. They brought home dinner -- futomaki sushi and inari, so that makes sushi 2 days in a row for me and Alexis. w00t.

They're watching Korea vs. someone in the World Cup now, and I have to join them, so that's all for tonight. Tomorrow's plan includes the Diet Building, Minka-En (this old little neighborhood that they resurrected, so you can see inside the buildings -- they'll have a teahouse!!) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. I wonder if I can get into the basements.... XD

One final note: My book needs an entire restructuring. Not only is it currently set in fangirl Japan, it is so completely entrenched in it that I need to fool around with a bunch of it to make it work. *sigh* This is what I get for not doing research... grrrr... apparently teahouses don't -have- a second level... But Maaya has firmly decided that she -is- working in the Nezu Museum gardens, little snot.. that causes more problems for me too... oh well, we'll work around it. ^^;;

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 20:28 on 4th June, 2002

ah, deviant sushi chefs and the lonely lives they lead... i love japan.

Despite having to get up at 5:00am on Monday morning, I don't think I've had a more interesting day yet. We had to get up so early because we were off to Tsukiji, which is the Japanese wholesale fish market. It's about three blocks squared, and it's full of these shops selling fish, and restaurants selling the fish cooked. That was our purpose. We went there to have sushi for breakfast.

We got there around 6:30, and wandered up and down the shops for a bit before finding this really nice sushi restaurant. We sat down, ordered (bridgie got tuna, salmon, shrimp, snapper, crab, and miso soup with baby clams in it. XD) and proceeded to chow down on the best sushi either of us have ever had. Yum yum yum, it was all sooo good. I liked the tuna the best. *_______* We were doing good too, with our Japanese and stuff, ordering and whatnot. And I thought I was doing so well, until one of the sushi chefs asked me where we were from he said "doko," which means "where," but someone only heard "dou" which means "how" so Bridgie answers "it's very good!"

....

They got a real kick out of that. ^^;; So much for being somewhat skilled with japanese. I'd forgotten that part of the sushi chef's job is to be social with the customers, but it was fun. This particular chef was in his thirties, and he chatted with us, asking where we were from and what we were doing in Japan. So, we get up to leave and he says something to me, in English, which I don't catch. I asked him to repeat it and it turns out he said:

"Take me tonight, baby."

I was laughing so hard, I couldn't walk straight. XD XD XD

After Tsukiji, we went to Ueno Park. Muwahahahahaha.... it's a huge park with a zoo, and four or five art museums... it was too early for all that stuff to be open, so we just walked around the park. I took a picture of a sakura tree (not THE tree, but A tree, so that I could at least say "well, you know it -could- be...") and then some guy outside of an art museum wanted to take Alexis' picture for his paintings. He took three, and he was -so not- taking pictures of her face, let's just put it that way. It was the day for weird men.

After Ueno Park, we went back to Roppongi and relaxed. We got back around 9:30am, and I hopped on line a little before going to read. Got to talk to Lisa, Lins, Will, Rochelle and April, which was nice. I miss my friends. (Especially here, where everyone is so normal... O_o) Around noon, we left the house for lunch, and we went to this very NICE (very expensive ><) Japanese restaurant for lunch. This place was so cool... they gave us 7 courses, and I'll elaborate on them later when I have pictures to show, because I really can't describe it. We were there for about 2 hours, and wow, it was just the coolest thing.

After lunch, we walked back to Roppongi and did a little shopping, I bought a bamboo screen to put downstairs in my room at home, and then we both took naps. Naps are good. Then dinner, then sleep. Fun day.

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 22:03 on 3rd June, 2002

what would the electric toilet seat do, really?

Sunday we got a late start, because there isn't much open in the mornings. We left the house around 11:30am, and walked around Roppongi and Juban and went into bookstores. I didn't find anything, but Alexis found three American books for about , which is a good deal because they were all priced at in the States. ^^ We wandered back to the house around one-ish, and then we went to lunch with the Reubens and Alexis' grandmother, Nadia (she is SUCH a cool lady).

We went to this little soba place in Juban, and the food was very good, but the service was horrid. We were served very slowly and Nadia received her food dead last, when by the rules of service in Japan, she should have been served right after Mr. Reuben. Bad people. >F I have a feeling they won't go there again.

After lunch, Mr. Reuben dropped me and Alexis and Mrs. Reuben off at the Nezu museum, and we got to see a Masumune sword display. Masamune is considered the best of Japan's swordmakers, he lived in Kamakura around the 13th century. I don't know much about swords or swordmaking, but even I could tell that those swords were gorgeous. I wanted everything in that exhibit. I also know people who would have needed a cold shower after going through it (ne, Rochelle? ^_~).

After checking out the swords, we walked around the garden around the museum, and I got to see the outside of a teahouse. Maaya and Yan liked it there, and Maaya's deciding that that's where she's going to have her teahouse in my book. Wednesday, I might be able to actually go inside the teahouse and get some pictures so I can be accurate. ^^

We got caught in a freak rainstorm on the way back to Roppongi, where we left Mrs. Reuben and hopped the subway for Akihabara, the Electric City, where you can buy every electronic thing known to man. The place is one large light show, and every store has rows and rows of electric fans and plug-in toilet seats... god only knows what they do. But I found a bookstore that had a whole floor of manga, so I was happy happy. I bought the volume of manga I was searching for, and read it on the train (Anna, you're in trouble... how could you tell me about the confession in volume 20 of Kohri but NOT TELL ME about the other stuff?!?!?! I nearly had a heart attack on the train) and then read it more in depth when we got back. It was so sad... ;_;

Back to Akihabara for a little bit though. Alexis and I were in the bookstore for about a half an hour, me looking at stuff, and her getting really flustered and disgusted by any hentai content anywhere. I had a good time laughing my head off at her reactions. :D Then we tooled around the town for an hour looking for Will's video games. One adventure took us down into the "over 18" section of one of the stores, and wasn't -that- interesting. The staff had "what the hell are THEY doing here?!" looks on their faces. Alexis stared at the ceiling and kept muttering how she was going to come after Will with a water gun next AUAS meeting. I, being the weird person that I am, thought it was pretty amusing.

We left Akihabara around 8-ish, went back to Roppongi and had dinner. Then Alexis went to bed and I sat down to read Kohri volume 20, cried -really- hard, got stuffed up and took about an hour to get to sleep. Nyeh...

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 21:58 on 2nd June, 2002

wheee, let's all just have a little naked time...

(Note: these are backdated, I'm doing three today (monday), so yeah, just so you know.)

Augh, I'm so behind!! I'll do the other summaries later today (Monday), promise!!

Okay, so Saturday, Alexis, Julie, Mr. Reuben and yours truly piled into a car for Hakone, which is southwest of Tokyo, in the mountains. We did good until Mr. Reuben got slightly lost and we had to take the long way around, which involved many many teeny, tiny, winding mountain roads. I'd bet money that people use them for street racing, I actually saw skid marks around the turn areas (of course that could be just normal people panicking on the roads, which I know I would have done), and I felt motion sick almost the whole way. X_x But we got to Hakone and this extremely pretty lake (I'll have to check the name), where we visited this shrine in the woods and then had lunch. I had cold udon noodles, yum yum. And Mr. Reuben and Alexis both made me try some of their lunch, which included tempura-ed fishies... heads, eyes and all... X***O

After lunch, we hopped back into the car and went to this old palace in Hakone, where there used to be a check point between Kyoto and Tokyo. The scenery was gorgeous.

Then we hopped back into the car and headed for Yamanaka-ko ("Lake inside the mountain") and it was more windy roads, but this time we were occupied with playing "find the hiding mountain." Apparently, it was a really bad day for seeing Mt. Fuji, while we were driving, we only managed to see a faint outline of the top through this really thick haze. So, we were kind of disappointed at that. But as we were getting off the windy roads into the actual town of Yamanakako, we got this really nice clear glimpse of it, and Mr. Reuben pulled over so I could get a picture. :D!!

The onsen itself was in Yamanaka-ko, and it was back in the woods, away from the lake (which kind of reminded me of Coneseus Lake, actually, except with a sandy shore) and we paid our 700 yen to get in and bought little towels and then Mr. Reuben left the three of us ladies to ourselves. We get up into the changing room and my-oh-my, I haven't ever seen so many naked people in one room EVER in my life. It was hard to know where to look. And they're all walking around, doing their own things, not even really staring at the three foreign girls who are -really- trying not to stare at anything that jiggled... it was actually pretty funny.

So, the first part of the onsen is where you take a little shower while sitting on this wooden stool. They give you soap and you just wash and then rinse and then hop in the water! Then you yelp and jump back out because the water is freaking hot. But we spent some time in the 80 degree water, then ventured outside (the little towels we bought provided some cover as you walked around. Otherwise, I don't think I would have been able to do this.. O_o) to the water that was about 90 degrees or so. Very hot, but really pretty nice. While we were in that pool, some old lady was pointing at us and saying to her friends/family "gaijin" ("foreigner," short for "gaikokujin"), as if we spoke no Japanese. Then compared to the 90 degree water, the one that was 75 degrees was really really nice.

We spent about an hour in the outside ones, then went back inside for the bubbly pool, then the really cold one and then we decided we were done and got dressed. It was a VERY interesting experience, and I would actually love to do it again. Maybe next trip. ^^

On the way home, we listened to music and couldn't move. We dropped Julie off at her house, then went back to Roppongi, met Alexis' dad's mom (he calls her Mommy O_o) who is a really nice lady, had dinner and then Alexis and I passed out. Overall, a very nice day. ^_^

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 23:05 on 1st June, 2002

shi-shi-shi-shibuyaaaa...

Okay, the update for Friday, day nine of Bridgie's Japanese Excusion:

We got a really late start, compared with the first eight days of being here. Alexis and Julie got drunk Thursday night (I didn't go out with them, I was dead tired and they didn't get in until one. If I had gone out with them, I would have been -so- cranky once we got past about 9pm, and they left at 7:30pm, so it was a good thing all around. I went to bed at 9pm. O_o) and so they both slept until about 11am. I got up at about seven thirty am, checked email and talked to Kat for a little bit, then I went back to bed and slept until 10am. :D

Once we got out of the house, we hopped a bus for Shibuya. I really liked Shibuya, they played Japanese pop music (J-Pop) over speakers all over the area. Granted, they played the same song over and over, but hey, whatever works. There are a lot of hip clothing stores, arcades, fast food places and SHOE STORES. Alexis and Julie went into almost every one they passed. Julie bought these blue denim sandal-heels with pink trim, very cute, but I think she's going to break her ankle on them going down stairs someday. Since I had shoes, I didn't buy anything.

I wasn't that keen on looking in clothing stores at stuff I couldn't even hope to wear, so while Alexis and Julie went to another department store, I went to the music store across the street and listened to most of the listening stations. ^^

I found this neat band called Folder 5, and there was this album that was a bunch of Japanese bands doing a tribute to George Harrison. It had some of his solo stuff, and some stuff from the Beatles, and the end is an instrumental version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and overall it was a very nice album. (It was also 2900 yen, so I didn't buy it.) I also got to see Eminem's new music video, and I'm starting to think he's pretty funny. I mean, yes, he is offensive as anything, but on some level, I find him hysterical.

After I met up with Julie and Alexis (they bought purses), we were kind of hungry, so we took a trip to McDonalds. Julie got fries, and I tried a teriyaki burger. It was really not that good. For one, it wasn't a BURGER. It was chicken, but I didn't know this until Mrs. Reuben told me much later. I knew it wasn't beef or pork, and I got a little freaked out because I didn't know -what- it was. And blech, it just wasn't my cup of tea. I should have gotten a crepe instead. Oh well, Alexis said there are other places to find them. ^^

We wandered around Shibuya some more, and we happened upon a manga shop, and I found some comics I was looking for. Now I only have one more to find, then I am done with shopping in general, I think. ^^ Then we got a free bottle of Lipton tea because they were doing taste-tests to see whether people liked "Cool Peache" or "Lemone" better -- I liked the peach. ^^ Then we went shopping in the 109 building, Alexis bought jeans from a women's clothing store that had porn all over the dressing room walls (again, I thought it was really funny on one level) and I got complimented by one of the attendants because I could sort of read manga. ^^ She said it was "cool." :D :D

After the 109 building, we headed back to Roppongi, and we had planned on going out, but instead we ate dinner and then Alexis, Julie and I sat around for about three hours and just talked. (For me, that was much more fun than a bar would be. ^^)

Saturday's plan is that we're going to Hakone to an onsen (a recreational public bath -- should be interesting) and to see Mt. Fuji finally!!! I'll take pictures. :D

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 09:26 on 31st May, 2002

one bridge, two bridge, three bridge, BEER!!

I have this sudden urge to listen to "Send in the Clowns," but I don't have it. ;_; I'm starting to feel just slightly homesick, which is kind of sad considering this is the trip of a lifetime. It's not so much homesick, as I'm looking for something familiar. Maybe it has to do with Alexis' friend Julie being over right now and they talk to each other like I'm not there. They don't do it purposely, but they do do it. We're supposed to be going out in a half hour, but I don't even think they've started to get ready yet. We're going out to clubs and bars because it's Ladies' Night and everything's free. Whee... I don't smoke, dance or drink much, so this is a waste for me. *sigh*

I've been looking through volumes 17&19 of Kohri no Mamono no Monogatari, specifically 19, and I am SO CONFUSED!! I have no idea what's happening to poor Ishuca. I need to reread the summaries again, and I need someone to tell me what the heck happened in volume 19. *makes pleading eyes at Anna* Anybody?

Okay, so today we went to Asakusa by way of Shimbashi and the Hama Rikyuu Gardens. We took a boat from Hama Rikyuu (after getting really lost on the way there XD) and the boat went up the river and we passed under a total of 12 bridges. But when the journey started, we were directed behind us and we were treated to a sight of the Rainbow Bridge. Muwahahahaha... Seventh kekkai... XD

The bridges were pretty nice, for bridges, I took pictures of all of them, just for kicks, and as we approached the Asakusa pier, we saw the Asahi Beer headquarters. The building is supposed to look like a giant mug of beer. It's a very tall building, colored beer-like amber, with this metallic "foam" on top. Next to it is a weirdly shaped, shorter building with this golden sculpture on the top of it that we think was supposed to be a hop, but it looked like some kind of tadpole swimming. It had to be the ugliest building I've ever seen. Really. And it was -really- funny. XD

After we got off the boat, we wandered around looking for the okonomiyaki shop that's in the tour book. We finally found it, after asking about 5 different people, but we got to try the famous Japanese pancake. We also got to cook them ourselves, it was fun, but more importantly, it was delicious!! Mine had a very strong plum taste, but it was still very good. See Anna, I tried it! XD

After lunch, we went to Asakusa temple, this HUGE temple in the middle of the area, and all the way up to it for about six blocks is this little market area where they sell chachki things and fifteen different types of sembe (crackers). We walked along and tried the freebies that were left out. Very tasty. ^^ I also got to sample iced candy, which is essentially a popsicle, but different. Mine tasted like Ramune soda, and it was very good too. ^^

Then we meandered from Asakusa temple to another couple of temples, which were pretty and fun. Then we hopped on the train back home, and now Alexis and Julie are getting ready to go. (Waaaaahh... I don't want to go....)

Tomorrow, we're headed to Shibuya for shopping and sightseeing with Alexis' friend Andy who flunked out of Princeton but thinks he's still hot stuff anyway. Go figure.

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 18:24 on 30th May, 2002

chi-chi-chi-chinatooooown...

Day Seven:

Today was also rather unexciting to tell about, because we only went to one place -- Chinatown in Yokohama. It's supposedly the biggest one in the world, outside of, well, China. We took the JR train down to Yokohama and got off and found our way into Chinatown pretty easily. First thing we did was we found a restaurant to eat at because we were starving. We found this nice little place and ordered something with chicken, mushrooms and baby corn -- neither of us could read what was written on the menu. ^^;;

After eating, we wandered around Chinatown for a good three and a half hours. There are lots of little chachki places ("chachki" is Alexis' word for trinkets ^^), and lots of places to buy clothing. Alexis picked up this really cute pair of pants, and I just looked at a lot of stuff I could never fit into without putting my head on someone else's body. Waah... I wanted to buy a People's Cap (standard-issue caps in Commie China) but Alexis wouldn't let me. ;_;

I did manage to find something in Chinatown though, I bought a little Chinese coat for my Angel who has yet to be named. (A bunch of us AUASers got Ikea dolls at uberfest, and we're going to costume them, name them, then take them to cons. XD) I have to take it in at the waist, but I think she'll look right pretty in it with a white or blue bodysuit. ^^

On our way back to the train, we walked by all these tarp-covered things and we couldn't figure out what they were until I saw a pair of shoes sitting outside on of them. They were homeless shanties, little shelters where a homeless person lives. It was very sad to see them.

After we got back to Roppongi, we had dinner and then I tried to stay up to watch an episode of hack//sign, but I didn't manage to make it until the midnight showing. Ah well, such is life. ^^

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 18:10 on 29th May, 2002

oh no... i've got.... HAPPY FEET!!

Wheee, it's Tuesday already!! I'm so tired... ~.~

Okay, here's a brief summary for what we did today. Today was an easy day, not much exciting, other than I found a manga reference that I didn't even know was in Ginza until we got there.

First thing, we went to Takeshimaya, a HUGE department store in Nihonbashi. We went there to see it open, and have all the ladies who work there bow for us. It was an experience, but I actually kind of felt uncomfortable, because they all kind of stare at you, bow and say "irrashaimasse" which is a type of welcome they use at stores and restaurants. The thing that made it weird is that you're not expected to do anything back, not say "good morning" or "hello" or anything. So that was weird.

After that, we hopped back on the train to Ginza and found the national Kabuki theatre, and that was nice. It's for a really cheap seat in the theatre, so I highly doubt I will get to see a performance this trip. ^^;;

The manga reference has to do with X, and it's the clock tower that's currently the site for the action in the most recent issues. It's the Wako watch store's tower. And it just got blown up by Fuuma in the July edition of ASUKA. XD (Three kekkai today!! Total now: 6)

After that, we hit the subway again and went to Shinjuku, where we had lunch at a ramen shop (YUM!) and I finally got a pair of decent shoes. The ones I bought are comfortable, but they are NOT MADE for walking 4-5 hours a day. I got a pair of "adventure sandals" -- sandals that are built like sneakers -- for about , and my feet were very happy I did that. ~_~

Then we just kind of wandered around, took in some sun and chilled out. Today was kind of an easy day, since yesterday was a ton of walking. Tonight, we're going for an early dinner in Akihabara, and I will get to finish up my shopping for Ross and Will, and I'm going to look for the X fighting game for the PSX2. XD XD

Tomorrow, I believe, is Yokohama and Yamaguchi-ko, which is a little lake that offers a fantastic view of Mt. Fuji. Whee!!

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 16:16 on 28th May, 2002

i didn't think it could rain so much...

It rains a lot in Japan. This is the third day we've had thunderstorms. :O

Okay, on to day five. ^^

Today was all Kamakura, all the time. It is a very old, very small and VERY HILLY little town. But there are tons of old temples and one shrine worth going to. So, we started at the big temple, forgot the name, but it has a huge temple bell (I believe they ring it only on new years) that's a national treasure. The grounds were beautiful, very peaceful and nice to walk around. Honestly though, once you've seen one temple/shrine, you've pretty much seen them all... unless they're really special, I don't think I'm going to remember much about them... ^^;;

But one funny thing happened, we were going up to see the bell and we had to climb this huge, steep staircase (it had 140 stairs -- I counted) and Alexis said "and we thought they were skinny because they ate rice." XD

After that temple, we went to a women's temple right across the street, and it was a nunnery up until 1902. It used to be called the "divorce temple" because men who didn't want their wives anymore could take them there and ship them off to become a Buddhist nun and they wouldn't have to be married to them anymore. (Mean men. XP)

Then, we were very hungry, so we stopped for lunch at this well-known restaurant and we did a traditional Japanese lunch (we picked the cheapest one: ,300 yen.... YIKES!), and we had to take off our shoes and everything. The lunch was very good, it had some little things, mostly fish and pickles, then it had a little bowl of sashimi, then another plate of fish, and then miso soup and rice. Yum yum. I ate everything I was given, including.... A WHOLE FISH. It was a little thing, about the length of my middle finger, but it was WHOLE, and I ATE it. Head, eyes, tail and all... it was good, but I would have liked it more if I hadn't had to look at it first.

After lunch, we moseyed on to the next temple, then on to this huge shrine. It was very pretty, had tons of stairs (fortunately we only had to go down them), and then we walked along a row of shops, toward Kamakura Station, where we hopped a bus to the biggest statue of Buddha in Japan. It was fairly impressive, and probably would have been more so if it hadn't started to pour by the time we got there. We cut that visit short, went back to the station and headed back to the house. The plan tonight is to take it easy and have a nice Japanese dinner, then go to bed.

Tomorrow, I get to hit two more kekkai, for a running total of five -- we're going to watch the stores in Ginza open, tour Shinjuku (the gay capital of Japan, WOO HOO!!), and then hit Akihabara (the electric city -- they sell every kind of electronic known to man. They also have large manga and video game shops there too, w00t) in the evening with Alexis' little sister Annie. Should be fun. ^_^

One last note, I need some fscking sneakers... the shoes I have are just not cutting it.

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 18:44 on 27th May, 2002

i had kisa's favorite type of crepe... XD

Hehe, today was actually a rather short day.

We started out by waking up "late," meaning around 9:00am or so. I'm losing my touch. Although, when one goes to bed at 9:30pm the previous night, that does seem late. Hee. After breakfast and whatnot, we got going around 11am. Today, it was me, Alexis and Mrs. Reuben and we went back to Harajuku for a flea market at Togo shrine. The thing was HUGE, but what we were really going for was the used/antique kimono for 1,000 yen. That's around . W00T.

After Togo, we were all hungry and we went to this little French cafe for lunch, we had sandwiches on baguettes, mine was ham and cheese. Then I got to try a crepe, which are a very big thing here, there were stands all over the place. You can pretty much get anything in them, there was a Ceasar salad one, and the strawberry cheesecake flavor had a block of cheesecake in it! I got banana and chocolate, very tasty, and Alexis was amused that I was so happy about it. ^^

After that, we went back to the Meiji Shrine to see the Treasure Museum which we missed on Friday because it's only open on weekends and holidays. That was fun, we'd gone to the museum's annex on Friday and managed to convince the people that we were high school seniors so we wouldn't have to pay the 500 yen admission. Instead, we got in for 200. But our ticket was good for the main one and the annex, so we went to that part today. Walking through the shrine, we saw two Shinto wedding processions, and they were really very cool. The bride was so pretty in this big white kimono. *____*

The museum itself was pretty neat. This guy painted portraits of all of the Japanese emperors EVER and so we had a good time looking at the pictures, there were 122 in all, and of that, about 10 of the "emperors" were actually women with male names. They were wearing different clothing from the men and their hair was down and they all had this little chrysanthemum headpiece on that none of the men had. Alexis and I went through and were trying to figure it out, and the picture of Emperor Meiji's wife, Empress Shoukan, had the SAME headpiece on it, so we knew we were right. :D

Interesting note: there was no portrait of Emperor Akihito, the emperor from WWII. There was a spot for his picture, but no picture. There was a note on it, that we couldn't read, but I wonder if the guy didn't paint one for him... hmmmm....

After that, we went to a few clothing stores (I want to be a size 2 so I can fit into Japanese clothing... waaahh), and then came back to the house. Alexis took a nap, and I took a bath and soaked my poor foots. Tonight's plan is dinner then postcards, then SLEEP.

I've seen many many school kids, and the uniforms are JUST LIKE what I expected. Haha.. also, Fil, you'll be glad to know that the skirts ARE really that short. ^^

Tomorrow, Kamakura, the old old capital (as opposed to Kyoto, the old capital). Lots of shrines, stairs, shrines with lots of stairs, and walking. W00T.

Japan By the Numbers:
Kekkai Visited: 3 (Tokyo Tower, Sunshine 60, Yamanote Railway Line)
New Japanese Words Learned: none.. ^^;;
Progress on Learning JR Song: about halfway there, god knows I've used the subway enough, I should know it by now...
Weird Commercials Seen: one so far, it's for a drink of some kind. A woman is in the bathtub when this paper mache puppet of a guy just pops up out of nowhere. She screams, it screams, and then she gets it into a game of "you repeat everything I say" and then BAM!! a picture of the drink shows up on the screen. ... O_o Japanese people are weird.

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 18:08 on 26th May, 2002

if you eat too much soba, your nails turn yellow...

A follow up from Friday night. We didn't go to Shibuya for dinner, we ended up walking to Juuban and eating at a real Chinese restaurant. The food is VERY different, but it was overall delicious. Then we went to a convenience store, bought some snacks and came back to watch a movie, then we went to bed.

On to day three:

First, Alexis' dad took us to the war memorial, it's the shrine that every time the Prime Minister goes to it, he gets in trouble with the Chinese and Koreans because there are war criminals buried there (there are also soldiers from Japan's wars from the 1800s too, which people tend to overlook). It was a very large shrine and I forget the name of it, I really should write it down... Anywho, I took some pictures and you'll get to see what it looked like when I get home.

After the shrine, we went to the Imperial Palace gardens, which really wasn't all that entertaining. Both Alexis and I were kind of disappointed, because you don't get to see ANY of the palace, even though the Emperor doesn't actually live in the old building. Mrf. But the flowers were pretty and it was a nice walk.

For lunch, we went to Mr. Reuben's favorite soba shop, and treated to lunch. I had cold soba in a soy/ginger/wasabi/scallion dipping sauce. Yum yum. ^^ Then Mr. Reuben dropped us off at the house and went to his baseball game. Alexis and I set off again for Ikebukuro, home of the Sunshine 60 building (the tallest building in Tokyo) and Animate. Animate is the BIGGEST anime and manga store I have ever seen in my life.

Breakdown:
1st floor - new/popular releases
2nd floor - shounen
3rd floor - shoujo and yaoi
4th floor - hentai
5th floor - shitajiki, posters, etc.
6th floor - CD/DVDs
7th floor - models and Totoro woodland thing
8th floor - One Piece Floor (I think they rotate it to fit a popular anime/manga... wooo)

I spent almost two hours in that place, and I had to leave before I spent too much money. But, I managed to pick up stuff for some people, including me. I bought X Zero, it's GORGEOUS. XD It was also about , which is HALF of what they sell it for in the states... w00t... It was fun, they were playing songs over the loudspeakers that I knew, and I was singing along. I was also the only Occidental person in the store. ^^;;

Alexis picked me up from Animate (she went shopping elsewhere -- she has no interest in anime), and on our way back to the subway, we saw this guy with a trained monkey (MONKEY!). It was funny, he made the thing walk on stilts and jump things, but I kind of felt sorry for the monkey.

We hopped on the subway and went WAY out from downtown to Kichijouji, which is a suburb-y area inside Tokyo. It was cute, we met Alexis' friend Julie there and had dinner at an Indian restaurant. I had chicken curry (spicy!!) and buttered nan bread. Yum yum again. Then Alexis and Julie were planning on going to their friends' concert, but I was soooo tired. So, they put me on the train to Roppongi and gave me directions to the house, and off I went!! I got all the way home with no problems. All by myself! I was proud of me. ^^

Then, I inventoried what I bought for peoples, read a little and went to sleep.

By the way, Nilah... I found Crescent Noise. There are six volumes as far as I know, and I got ahold of four of them. WAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 21:32 on 25th May, 2002

betcha can't guess where i am....

YA-HO!! You know the best part about staying with people you know? They usually have a computer and they don't mind if you use it. XD

I'm going to post a little journal on here of my trip so people can read and be jealous... ^_~

(btw, if anyone cares about what's happening in X, the latest issue summary is here. It has some scans, but guess who bought it and read it? NYAHAHAHAHA... okay, I'm going to stop now. But I really don't get why the color picture was of Kakyou, he doesn't show up at all in this section, Mokona must really like him... oh and by the way, Lins... the Ten no Ryuu is going to lose Arashi soon... *sob*)

Okay, to sum up day one: LONG plane ride. But it wasn't too bad. LONG walk to Roppongi from the bus station, and then I went to sleep. ^^

On to day two:

Today Alexis and I walked around from about 10am to 4:30pm. We went to Tokyo Tower (walked past it, it's neat, but UGLY), I took some pictures.

Then we went to the Zogouji Shrine which is right by the tower, and that was -very- neat. Very old, neat to look at. Took plenty of pictures. We walked through a cemetary, and that itself was pretty neat too. Then we saw the little section of the shrine that is the place where people can pray for the souls of miscarried/stillborn children, and oh jeebus, that was SAD. There are tons of these little statues of children, and they all have pinwheels on them... ;_;

After that, we took the subway to Harajuku and went to the Meiji Shrine, which is where the Emperor Meiji and his wife's ashes are interred, and the place is HUGE. It's also very nice, took many pictures there. I learned how to pay respects at Shinto shrines, and that was pretty neat. (I think I've used "neat" about six times already in this entry... I have a limited vocabulary... ^^;;)

After that... we bought lunch at a convenience store for about , I had noodles with stuff on them (I seriously don't know what it was), an onigiri (a riceball with seaweed around it and filling inside the rice --mine was salmon-- yum yum), and milk tea. They heated my food up in a microwave and everything, it was very cool.

Then we went to this place called the Oriental Bazaar, and it's a big souvenir-ish place. I bought all my souvenirs there, I got some neat stuff ^^ I'm done with souvenir shopping after that. ^^ I bought me a happy coat, which is a kimono-shaped robe. It's just something to wear around the house I think. It's blue and has dragons on it. :D

And after -that- we wandered around, found another temple and looked at it --they have temples and shrines right next to convenience stores and stuff, it's very interesting-- and we went to a book store and I bought the latest ASUKA and Hana to Yume (no Yami!! *cry*), Bridget very happy.

Tonight, if it stops raining, we're either going to an arcade or to Shibuya, we haven't decided. We also need to decide on dinner... hungry... Tomorrow, were going to the Imperial Palace gardens and then to Nikko, which is an old section of Japan about an hour from here.

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 18:11 on 24th May, 2002

you remind me of the babe...

sound: the shower runnng upstairs
chat: just signed off, was talking to lins
mood: giddy!!

I will attempt to blog while I'm in Japan, though I wouldn't count on it being more than once at the most. I'll take a lot of pictures, and will send out a bunch of postcards.

So long peoples! I'll see everyone when I get back!!

Quote of the Day: "WHOA! Those pants are too tight for a kids' movie!" - Me, while watching David Bowie's pants in Labyrinth

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 04:34 on 22nd May, 2002

still feeling like kyou running toward haru...

sound: "tomorrow" - full metal panic
chat: lisa, lins, april
mood: restless and lazy... O.o

Day after tomorrow, I will be on a plane, probably flying over the Pacific Ocean. Part of me can't believe I'm actually going to get to do this. I mean, I've been international before, but always with a huge group of people, never by myself. I'm only going to have Alexis and her family while I'm over there, so this is a big thing. ^^ I'm almost packed, and I just have to make sure I've got the list of what everyone wants me to buy for them straightened out.

I think there isn't anyone else in the world who hated Episode II as much as I did. I also seem to be the only person who didn't care about Jengo and Boba Fett, who thought the last hour was painful and that Yoda's little trick was cheap fanservice. I guess I should go see it again. I think I spent too much time hating it and not paying much attention. I don't think I'll adore the film like I adore Empire, but maybe I'll find it isn't too bad. *shrug* Who knows.

Another note: Full Metal Panic is a COOL anime. I will have to look for this while in Japan. Sagara is like Heero Yuy, only with a sexier voice.

Quote of the Day: "You use them when you lose your water bottle in the jungle." - Sagara Sousuke, from Full Metal Panic, talking about what he considers to be a proper use for condoms. XD XD

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 23:54 on 20th May, 2002

it wasn't "wink wink, nudge nudge" it was "WHAM!!"

sound: nothing
chat: lins
mood: disillusioned, horrified, betrayed

I have the perfect piece of fanfiction to hand over to the ficbitches. It has everything they hate (and I quote right from their page): lack of character development, bad love stories, overdone cliches, characters that aren't in-character, and plot holes large enough to stuff the author's entire high school class in. It also has gratuitous use of foreign languages for no reason.

The title of the fic? Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones. It's fanfiction. Pure and unadulterated pit swill. George Lucas should be ashamed of himself for stealing some slobbering fangirl's labor of obsession and claiming it as his own. Has he no shame?

The film, from start to finish, is disappointing. The only decent actor in the whole thing was Ewan McGregor, and I'm not just saying that because I like him. The best part of the movie involved R2D2 dragging C-3PO's head around. The dialogue was filled with in-jokes that were blatantly obvious, which means that they WERE NOT in-jokes at all. And here's a spoiler that'll make you want to bang your head against a wall:

THE REPUBLIC FALLS BECAUSE OF JAR JAR BINKS.

Oh yes, you thought he was annoying before...

In a nutshell, the movie is one gigantic orgasmic thing perpetrated on a captive audience (and I say captive because if you stood up, hundreds of people would scream at you for blocking the screen) by Lucas, and it's just painful, gnaw-your-limbs-off-to-escape piece of crap.

George Lucas, I want my .50 back.

And it'd better not be sticky.

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 03:26 on 16th May, 2002

come on something, come on in, don't be shy...

song: "somethin's comin'" - west side story, "what i did for love" - a chorus line
chat: lins, lisa
mood: lazy

Mrf... no want to go to work. But it's my dad, so I can't actually call off. ><;; Maybe I can pretend to have caught whatever Kat has... but then I can't go to the movie. Dammit.

Bought my ticket to Japan. WHEE!! I'm officially going now. It's all set. *runs around cheering*

Hehe, no Jaime, you're not the only person who saw it. The part where Kanoe asked if Fuuma was Kotori's lover made me ill... *shudder* I don't get it. The movie itself had -no gay- at all, the dubbers put it IN where it wasn't supposed to be (*coughshougoandyuutocough*) and they put in incest!! I have a feeling that the people who work for Manga Entertainment are extremely frustrated individuals... *whistles*

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 14:05 on 15th May, 2002

i can die happy now...

sound: "the riddle" - scarlet pimpernel
chat: lins, lisa
mood: exstatic

I PASSED ECONOMICS

My professor passed me!! I didn't fail it, and I didn't even have to make up any work! My life has been saved. *jumps around* Now I can go to Japan worry-free... and next semester I'll just have to really take myself to task and keep up with everything. I really will too, I got a total wake-up call last semester... phew. I can stop biting my nails now...

In other news, my dog is jealous of the computer, because it takes attention away from her. XD

I've been working for my father for the past few days, and will be until Saturday, doing manual labor stuff. Yesterday and today I built shelving units, and let me tell you -- that's HARD WORK. Dad was amazed I even was able to get them up and sturdy and loaded up with ALL of my aunt's crap she's storing at his house. I've managed to impress... ^^

But geeze, it's tiring. I'm having fun though. Not during, not really... I was cursing Dad out while he wasn't around today, swearing up and down that the next time he gets a brilliant idea, he can do it himself. But looking at what I accomplished was extremely rewarding. Seeing a project completed makes me happy. ^^

I'm working on landscaping tomorrow. More working with my hands. XD And then...... EPISODE II. Going to the very first showing (12:01 am on Thursday) with Kat, just as we did for Episode I. I hope it's better than TPM, if it isn't, I don't think I can stomach the third one.

I was in Borders today and noticed (not for the first time) that I am SO behind in the Star Wars books, it's not even funny. The whole current plotline, with the Vzauhn Vong (spelled it wrong, oh well), is whizzing past me. But it seems to be the darkest of the books, but it gives itself over to melodrama... two "major" characters have been killed, one established, one created by Timothy Zahn. I was actually pretty surprised at the second one, since he seemed to be the darling of the authors... *shrug*

But I also can't find myself caring all that much about the books anymore. I mean, the characters I grew up on -- Luke, Leia, Han, Wedge, etc -- have all been relegated to supporting roles, and they're getting old. Luke Skywalker is not supposed to get old, dammit. He's supposed to stay twenty-one forever.

Got another disappointment tonight. Found out the fifth Harry Potter book is rumored to be released in the Spring. That means no new Harry stories until NEXT YEAR!! *cry* I'll just have to content myself with reading the books over for a fourth time.

Although, the His Dark Materials series is very good. But don't believe what they tell you when they say it's better than Harry Potter, it's not, if only for the reason that they NEVER TELL YOU when the story is taking place. And even the "where" is iffy. But otherwise, good book. And let's not forget that Captal's Tower is coming out in October. *drools* And now I can find out what happened to Collen. He. Is. Not. Dead. No one saw it happen, no one saw the body. So NYAH.

I love being a bookworm. *niko* ^^

Days until Japan: 7!!

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 23:26 on 14th May, 2002

---

insert fangirl squealing...

sound: "what's up guys" - bakuretsu hunters
chat: emmy, lisa
mood: extremely fangirly

Emmy made Disappearing Innocence animated chibis!! :D :D :D

For those who don't know, I'm in a Weiß Kreuz-based online roleplaying game (actually, involving most of the people I have linked on this blog.. ^^;;) that features a team of original assassins, called Versenkbar that oppose the two established groups. They're even more dysfunctional than BOTH groups combined, those of you who've seen WK will know that's definitely messed up. ^^ But anyway, I play Fujimiya Ran and my original character, Kanatachi Miki (and Miki's boyfriend Yan when I get a chance, although Emmy plays a fscking hysterical version XD). But we have a fairly large fanbase (some of us are in love with our own characters, it's kind of sad... *cough*) and Emmy decided to make chibis for them!! So there are a few of them, complete with alt tags... but from left to right are: Miki, Yan, Miki AND Yan (hee, Miki's shorter... XD), Kai, Sturm, Nick, Sturm AND Nick (too goddamed cute when they're not fighting...), and my personal favorite, Anna and her favorite past time: kicking Miki in the shins when he calls her a brat. Oh my, we are having some fun now.... XD

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 23:20 on 11th May, 2002

---

AAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAH!!!

sound: "midnight illusion" - seki toshihiko, "konya wa hurricane" - bgc
chat: imed a couple people, but they don't seem to be around....
mood: whee!

SHE'S BACK!!

Nyahaha, I got the internet to work at my house, so happy. It's really kind of sad though, that I have no computer for two days and it feels like the world is ending. But I missed my pals online, and the people back in DC that I won't get to see until August except in text boxes and blogs. But anyway, I'm connected again. ^_^

Well, have 4 out of 5 grades for the semester. So far, I've passed AND my GPA's gone up. Wai. Just waiting on the economics grade, and then I'll know if mom'll go through with her threat that says if you fail three classes you go to school in Rochester. UGH. Here's keeping my fingers crossed... Xd

Congrats on four whole songs, Ohime-sama!! I want to hear them sometime! Also, I'm not surprised you didn't get Kizuna, I should've explained it first. Have you watched Kikujiro yet? That one's cute. ^_^

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 12:43 on 11th May, 2002

---

dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun....

sound: none
chat: lisa, lisa, lins
mood: pretty freaking tired

T-minus 1.5 hours until the Econ final. Wheee...

Furuba 24-26 ownz. Furuba is best series ever. *__________*

Irritating thing about AIM: when you have nothing to do, no one's on. When you're in a hurry to leave, people want to talk to you. ~~;; The burdens of being popular...

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 16:02 on 8th May 2002

---

why do i feel like kyou running full-tilt towards a rope-holding haru?

sound: drowning pool - "bodies"
chat: was mommie, but she had to go do work
mood: hungry.... :\

Made another new wallpaper ... which means my desktop changed again. Miki-chan, Yan-chan, you may now be cute without me staring at you constantly... ^^ I also refuse to make a paper featuring this image until everyone stops using it as blog layouts... I swear, I've seen ten blogs with this as the main one. I know it's pretty, but geeze... ><

Forty-five minutes left of my last day of work. WAI! I can go away for a whole summer and not be bothered by tech-support questions. Well, actually, since my compie is going to be the default machine for my family when I get home, I will probably be answering many questions from my mother about the way things work... oh well... I will be taking precautions to prevent certain *cough* things from being found.... *eyes a whole folder of chat logs* .... yeah.... >_>

Whee, AUAS eboard meeting tonight! I have so many plans, and the insane, unchecked ambition that can make them possible. MUWAHA... I love my job... I think I know why Homer stayed in school so long... ^_~ I also have to finish my Japanese final before 5pm. GANBARO NA, KAICHOU!! *clenches fists* 8|

Ni~ilah, don't mourn the loss of the Furuba layout!! If everything goes well in Japan, there might be a new one when I come back. Kyonkyonkyonkyon.... Oh, and possibly by tonight, I will have something for yo~ou..... email me and remind me what Furba eppies you have, because the rest has been released, and will be in my greedy little hands anon... I'll try to get a CD out to you and Anna before I leave the country. (ne ne, can I get a sketchie of Miki-chan dressed in Shigure's outfit? That's what he wears when he works at the teahouse... XD XD)

Jaime, the X movie dub was not only bad for the names, but the whole FuumaxKotori shit they tried to pull... >< Even when he's IN CHARACTER, Fuuma wouldn't go after his sister when Kamui's clearly prettier... XD (And also, I don't think anyone wants to get Kamui on that selector test.... it just implies way too many things about you. *got Kamui too* ^_~)

And, on one random note, go check out this page. She does mostly X fanart, and the links sometimes don't work, but if you hit the site when it's cooperating, you'll enjoy some very pretty artwork.

Another random note, I would so love to be the 100,000th hit on this site... that person gets art from Aoi... rock on.

Last random note, finished The Scarlet Pimpernel.. the ending's good, but you can see it coming a mile away if you pay attention to a certain character.... I really should finish Time Gifts before starting on Count of Monte Cristo or Subtle Knife.... I have too many books to read... but they're all for fun. ^^

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 10:22 on 7th May, 2002

---

wheeee....

sound: a mix of bad hip-hop and spanish music.. ><
chat: lisa
mood: covety

I want a new pair of sneakers.

That is all.

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 20:02 on 5th May, 2002

---

turning cartwheels in the lab is not a good idea, bridget...

sound: eh, icky hip-hop music
chat: lisa, kat
mood: restless

find your element at mutedfaith.com. <º>

........... dude. That's pretty neat.

I wonder how people have the time and/or human insight to make personality tests that actually work. It's fun to get ones that make sense to the person taking them. I also like it when I can't guess what I'm going to get as a result too. ^^

I just want to take this time to say publicly that Anna is a very good friend, I'm lucky to have her as such. ^^ *hugs Anna* Thank you so much for the email, I'm actually fine now, strangely enough. I hope everything's going well for you too, and you are handling any stress well. ^_^

And finally, I only have three, count 'em, THREE days left with my roommate-from-hell. I couldn't be happier. ^^

Quote of the Day: "Look, dude, I had sex ed in high school. five years of it. I also had several years of trigonometry, and I don't use that."
- Lisa, in response to this article that just proves our president is as stupid as we thought he was during the election.....

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 18:33 on 5th May, 2002

---

mine's even smaller than that....

sound: some biggie smalls song
chat: ross
mood: meh....

This is essentially how I feel about Elke right now. It might have to do with the fact that she woke me up at ten o'clock this morning talking to her mother on the phone, complaining loudly about how no one knows the "real" her. She doesn't want to show it to anyone because she thinks it will scare them and she doesn't want to get hurt.

...... call me crazy, but if the "real" you scares people, wouldn't you want to get it fixed? (Provided you care about that sort of thing, of course) But I really have no sympathy for her. She thinks she failed her Economics final, and if she did, then it's because she stressed out too much and studied too much for it. I would probably be more compassionate if she hadn't been such a cranky bitch while she was cramming for it. I really don't want to hear about it now. If she talks about it to me, I'm going to tell her to go complain to someone else because a) I don't have time to listen to it and b) I so don't care.

One fun thing that's going on is that Alexis is putting most of our furniture in storage today, so we've got the blowup couch (which I will be deflating probably tomorrow) and our desk chairs for places to sit. Elke's getting rid of her bed too, so she'll be sleeping on the floor until she moves out. O_o I don't know when they're moving into the new apartment, but living conditions should be funny until then. I'll probably start packing up tomorrow before work, then work on it gradually until Thursday. My biggest concern right now is that I have to find someone with a printer that I can use to print my PR Media media kit; I can't use the labs because I need to use special paper. ~~;;

I have a hankering to listen to the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack... too bad I didn't bring it. Oh well, something to do when I get home.

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 13:45 on 4th May, 2002

---

testing, testing... can you llamas hear me?

sound: "a-i-tsu" - dicot, "eX dream" - myuji
chat: no one... *sniffle*
mood: giddy

I think I might love this movie too much... nah....

Bridget defenestrated a peasant at 12:22 on 4th May, 2002

---