I ordered the first two volumes, with means I have episodes 1-13 (the entire Student Council Saga). At the moment, I'm scouring the 'net for SKU wallpapers, 'cause I'm in love with the series' pretty artwork...not to mention its soundtrack. *Sings* Zettai...Unmei...Mokushiroku...

Some time soon I'm going to raid the nearby video stores in search of the next set of disks, the Black Rose Saga. ^^;; I think I sense another obsession coming on...

Kitsune-chan rambled at 10:17 p.m. on Monday, June 2, 2003

~~ Home At Last! ~~

*Yawns* It's so good to be home...

I got back from my trip yesterday. We left on Tuesday morning, and didn't get back until kinda late last night. I have nothing against travel in general, but this trip was a small sojourn in hell. >.< This is the point where my obsessive need to rant/blog clashes with my common sense of knowing better than to talk too much about the details of the process of applying for this particular job =P So I have to be kinda vague ^^;;

Since we were flying, we had to drive two hours to the nearest airport. That wasn't too bad; otousan drove, and we listened to the radio. He and I have very similar tastes in music (well, English music, anyway ^^), so there was no fighting over the station. We got to the airport pretty early, so by the time we'd checked in, checked our baggage and had our carry-on luggage scanned, we still had almost two hours until our flight left...which meant that we got to sit around for two hours. Now, this wouldn't have been so bad, if not for the human factor. We weren't the only ones who arrived early; as we waited, a bunch of other passengers began to arrive. And for some ungodly reason, many of them had children. I swear, there were at least ten screaming children in that place...and yes, I counted. This one man was sitting around reading the paper, while his two brats ran around the whole area...making as much noise as humanly possible, of course. *Growls* This is a prime example of why I feel that all small children should be leashed and muzzled when in public. So, as you can imagine, that flight was loads of fun.

Now, I've never flown before, and being the height-phobe that I am, I was kinda nervous. Really, though, flying isn't nearly as bad as I'd expected it to be. I sat by the window, and I was able to look outside once we were in the air...seeing clouds that close is just cool ^__^ Our flight was pretty short, so I read my novel (while trying to ignore the screaming children).

When we landed, we had to take a shuttle over to the building where we could pick up our luggage...otousan wasn't sure where to go, so he followed some people that were on our flight (a man and his wife, and their screaming child). Once we had our luggage, we caught a cab to our hotel, which was some distance away.

After we'd kind of settled into the hotel room, we took the hotel's shuttle over to the nearby mall. Now, I may be a small-town girl, but I think I can realistically say that this mall was huge! We roamed around, passing several stores that okaasan would have loved, but not much that otousan or I cared about...honestly, you'd think that a mall big enough to have a Bloomingdale’s, Macy's, and Saks Fifth Avenue would have at least one good electronics or video store! =P We ended up eating dinner in this Italian restaurant in the food court...Kami things are overpriced there! The food was okay (I've easily had better), but ridiculously priced.

After we finished, we headed back to the hotel. I took a shower, and we went to bed as early as we could, 'cause I had to get up at 5:30 the next morning >.< Now, we were in a different time zone, so my internal clock was messed up, plus I'd not gotten up that early that morning, so I didn't fall asleep until well after midnight. Meaning, that I got around five hours of sleep. Now, when I'm at home and left alone (on weekends, or during breaks from school), I sleep at least nine or ten hours each day. That's just how I am. So, I was not happy to get up the next morning.

Since okaasan wasn't with us, I had to do my own makeup. Now, anyone who knows me can testify that I know nothing about makeup, 'cause I never wear it. I think it's pointless and a waste of time, and only wear it when forced (and even then, okaasan usually puts it on me, 'cause I don't know how). Needless to say, this trip reaffirmed my hatred for the stuff. I guess I didn't mess it up too badly, 'cause otousan didn't say anything about it. And knowing him, he'd definitely have said something if I came out looking like a circus clown. (though I sure felt like one =P)

Now, since I had to go through some medical tests, I couldn't eat (since 9:00 the night before) or use the bathroom. Add that to the lack of sleep, and I was understandably not happy. Once I was ready, I took a shuttle, along with a few other people, to the building our testing would be done in. They took us in as groups, so they could manage everyone (there we a lot of us).

First, I had my medical lab work. They had to draw blood...yeah, really fun way to start the day =P Apparently I have small veins, because the nurse couldn't find them in my right arm, and thus had to stick my left. And, of course, they had to use one of those needles that they leave in there for a while while it sucks out the blood...so I spent the time purposefully looking the other way (I'm rather squeamish and don't like the sight of blood) After she finished, I went out with the rest and waited to get some other work done. But as I was standing there, I suddenly started getting light-headed and nauseous. So the nurse sat me in a chair and reclined me so that my feet were in the air. Apparently this causes the blood to rush to your head, and this helps for some reason. I don't know or care why, but it did help.

After we finished with our lab-work, they shuttled us over to a different building to have our polygraph tests done. This was pretty straightforward. They told us what to expect, and then sent us in. There were only two things about it that bothered me; the posture and the equipment. When they had the machine turned on, I had to sit perfectly still (I usually fidget a bit), with my feet flat on the floor (I always cross my legs). Add to that the fact that the equipment made me rather uncomfortable, it was kinda hard to sit still. Well, I should say part of the equipment...The only part that bothered me was the blood pressure-like cuff they attached to my arm. I swear, the thing was so tight and on for so long that my arm turned a pretty gross shade of purple. And since he had several sets of questions to go through, I had to have my circulation cut off and returned at least three or four times. Not fun.

When we'd all finished, they shuttled us back to the first building to have our medical exam. This consisted of hearing and vision tests, and checking our blood pressure. Apparently I can still hear and have pretty much normal eyesight (20/25, I think). Apparently the nurse didn't like the first reading she got of my blood pressure, because she ended up checking it almost five times...now, by this point, if anyone else had approached me with a blood pressure cuff of any kind, I'd have strangled them with it. I like my arms, and hate having the circulation painfully cut off like that. She eventually told me that my blood pressure was high, but said that it could be due to stress (Ya think?!) She told me to have it checked again when I came back the next day.

After our medicals, we had to fill out some paperwork. First, there was a 500+ question thing to fill out. It was for our mental health evaluation. Instead of questions, it gave statements (like "I feel worthless") that we had to say were either true or false concerning us. After that, we had another booklet, though it was much shorter. This one was an essay question-type thing...it would ask a question, and we gave a short essay answer. When we finished that, we could finally leave.

I didn't get back to the hotel until after 4:00. Otousan, who had been stuck sitting around all day, was relieved to see me (he hadn't though it would take so long). I changed into more comfortable clothes and we called okaasan to fill her in on the events of the day. After that, we headed back to the mall for dinner (it was easier to get to than external restaurants). We had dinner at this rainforest-themed place...it was kinda weird, but not bad. The decor was a little nutty, but they had these incredible fish tanks...they were huge, and filled with beautiful salt-water fish. Very nice. The food was average...I discovered the wonders of raspberry iced tea ^__^ When we'd finished, we walked across the street to a Circuit City (now this is more like it!) I browsed the DVDs and computers toys, with otousan mostly doing the same. We ended up buying a copy of the NYPD Blue 1st Season Box Set on DVD. Very nice. By then, I was getting tired, so we called the hotel to ask the shuttle to come get us. The guy said that it'd be at least half an hour until he could. Grr. So we went back into the mall and sat down. We raided the food court and emerged with Blizzards from DQ. ^^ I had a Reese’s' PB cup (my fave), and otousan had an Oreo. After we'd had dessert, we went outside to wait. It was kinda sunny, which meant a lot (we'd heard that the area'd had a whole month of rain, with no sun) Now, we'd called the hotel around 7:00, and didn't get picked up until after 8:00. =P

When we finally got back to the room, I promptly settled into bed. We sat around watching TV until around 10:00, when I fell asleep. It was nice to sleep, even though I didn't sleep terribly well.

I got to sleep in a bit the next morning, which is always nice. After we'd both gotten up, otousan and I headed down to the hotel's restaurant to eat breakfast. That was possibly the best meal I had during the whole trip. After we'd eaten, we went back to the room. We ended up sitting around for quite awhile, eventually having to go downstairs to the lobby while the cleaning staff worked on our room. An hour or two before my next appointment (a psych evaluation), we went back up and I got ready. This time I had to catch a cab to the building, since I was the only one leaving at that time.

When I got there, I went to see another nurse, who said that my blood pressure was still high, but also though it could be due to the stress of travel and all these tests. She told me to have my doctor check it again when I got home and to send them the results. I later talked to okaasan about it, and she said that in the countless times I've had my BP checked before, it's never been high. And I know how tired and out of it I was all through the trip, I'm thinking stress could definitely be a factor. After I finished with the nurse, I talked to a lady who was in charge of doing the psych evaluations. Now, I've never been to a shrink, therapy, or anything like that, but I get the feeling that they're kinda goofy people. She kept dwelling on the stupidest of things. For some reason, my fear of heights was one of them. Though, as I kept telling her, it's not like I'm paralyzed by my fear...Hell, I was afraid of flying (due to the height), but I flew there anyway! Another thing was that she thought I was a hothead...I'm easily irritated and kinda cranky sometimes, but it's not like I'm violent (physically or verbally) about it...When I get mad, I just sit around and fume about it, unless I know the person really well (like my family), then I might snap at them. But that's it.

When I finished, I took a shuttle back to the hotel. And, since we were in the area, otousan suggested that we do some sightseeing. Now, we'd decided to go into D.C. to see some things. Oh, if only it'd been that easy. We took the train into the area, but ended up taking about two or three wrong trains 'cause we were lost. =P By the time we got to where we wanted to go, we quickly found out that it was raining. After purchasing an umbrella, we ended up walking over a mile to get to the Washington Monument. Slightly annoying, but worth it, right? Wrong. They'd sold all their tickets for the day, so we couldn't go up to see it. By this time, we were very cold and wet, plus I had a pounding headache, so we decided to go back to the hotel. We did get some pictures of things from a distance, though ^^;;

We rode the train back to the station we'd gotten on at. In order to leave the station, you have to put your pass through a machine at the turnstiles, so you can get out. Pretty routine, considering we'd did it several times before that day. But, for some reason, mine wouldn't work. Otousan's did, and he bought both of ours at the same time. Luckily, some nice man working there saw my plight and let me through an empty turnstile. ^_^

Outside the station, we caught a cab to take us back to the hotel. Now, the first time we rode in a cab (from the airport to the hotel), the driver was silent. The only time he spoke was to ask where we were going and to tell how much we owed him when we got there. This cab driver, on the other hand, was quite vocal. He spoke in heavily accented English, at least when he spoke to us. As we drove, he would start mumbling (singing?) in something that I could only assume was a foreign language, as he pretended to play the drums on the steering wheel. *L* And every so often, he'd point in one direction or another while talking to himself, as if he wasn't sure where to go...as it was, otousan had to tell him when to turn to get into the hotel's parking lot. ^^;;

We decided to just stay and eat in the hotel's restaurant rather than going out again. I had fettuccini alfredo, with a Caesar salad and otousan had some pork with a Caesar salad. That's one thing he and I have in common with respect to food; we're both Caesar salad fiends. We'll eat it with almost anything. It was good, though. ^^;;

After dinner, we headed back upstairs. I took a shower and then we sat around and watched TV. Having slept slightly better the night before, I wasn't that tired. We lay awake, watching some of Ghostbusters. After a while, though, otousan turned it off in an attempt to make me fall asleep =P Needless to say, that didn't help much.

The next morning was much like the one before it. We had breakfast in the restaurant downstairs, then went back up so I could get ready for my next appointment. This time, I met with a lady who took me to the office. When we got there, she talked about how things are structured and answered my questions. She showed me around the building, then took me back. Since we had already checked out, she offered to drive otousan and myself to the airport. She was very nice, and it turned out that we had some common interests.

We went through much the same procedure at this airport as at the last, and again arrived quite early, ending up with a sizeable amount of time to kill. We ate lunch at a California-style pizza place, but we got good ol' pepperoni pizza. ^^ We called okaasan to tell her where we were, and what had happened. While we waited, we read and had some ice cream (chocolate) ^^ We also made a couple of trips to the gift shop, returning with souvenir t-shirts and coffee mugs for the family.

Luckily, this flight was almost screaming child-free. There was only one, and it was pretty far away from us. The flight was much the same as the first, with the exception of seeming longer, because I was so eager to get home. Actually, we flew right over my hometown on the way! I wanted to just stop there, rather than keep going. ^^;; Of course I knew it was unrealistic, but I wanted it all the same. We got to the airport on schedule. We got our bags, then caught a shuttle to the parking lot where we'd left the car. We put our things in the car and were soon on the freeway, headed home.

We stopped at a nearby Steak 'n Shake for dinner, which was nice ^_^ For a couple of days, I'd been craving junk food of some sort. A big plate of cheese fries was just what I needed, along with my cheeseburger ^_^ After we ate and got back on the road, it didn't take too long to get home.

My brother was sitting on the porch waiting, when we got there. Okaasan and obaasan soon came to greet us, and we ended up sitting around recounting the events of the trip for them. After we'd finished, we sat down and started watching the NYPD Blue set we'd bought. I barely made it through the first episode before I had to go to bed, I was so tired. I went to bed around 11:00. I slept until 1:30 pm the next day. ^^ Told ya I was tired.

*G* Well, I believe that pretty much covers my trip. As I said before, traveling is fine, but I much prefer being home ^^

Kitsune-chan rambled at 10:58 p.m. on Saturday, May 31, 2003

~~ Pomp and Circumstance ~~

Wow. I can't believe it's over...That's the thing that's been going through my mind lately...I had my Graduation ceremony tonight. Even though you couldn't see it, okaasan made me dress 'nice' under my gown. That means nylons and very uncomfortable shoes >.< Plus, she plastered my face with make-up and insisted on curling my already permed hair ^^;; Now, I'll admit that some make-up was necessary...see, my allergies have been bothering me lately, and sometimes when they do, my eyes get all puffy =P Since they were, and the antihistamines didn't help, okaasan told me to put ice on it. I did, and when I looked at it as I was getting ready, I saw that it was less puffy, but was now a strange shade of blue-purple. I swear, it looked like someone had decked me!

When we got there, we had to drive around looking for a parking space...soon getting to the point where someone said that we should have just walked from home ^^;; We ran into Sipes-sensei on the way in, then some other people as we waited to go inside. Otousan brought his digital camera, so we took pictures. We got one of me with my family, with Bobby, with Gary, with Sipes-sensei, and with Blackwood-sensei. ^_^ Then we had to go inside and line up in the tunnels again. When they sent us up, they had our class sponsor standing there, telling us when to go...Apparently Mr. Useless decided that we couldn't be trusted to get it right, so we needed some help ^^ Oh, well...we did all get where we needed to go. We had to stand there while Mr. Useless droned on, then through our band's performance of the national anthem, and still through the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Now, this doesn't seem like a big deal, right? Wrong. I was stuck wearing these really tight, high-heeled dress shoes. (I usually wear comfortable sneakers; and I'm quite tall enough without high-heeled shoes =P) My feet were killing me >.<

When that was finished, Mr. Useless let us sit down. Then our two Salutatorians and our eight Valedictorians gave speeches. Yes, I said two and eight. That's ten people talking, and most of them were rather long-winded. ^^;; When they finished, they finally began calling us up to get our diplomas. For some reason, they just gave us an empty case; we had to go into the school to get the actual diploma and our final grades.

As is to be expected, our class president announced us and mortarboards were tossed into the air, silly-string was shot, etc. After talking to Bobby and Daniel for a few moments, I spotted my parents and we headed out. I talked to Señora for a few minutes. She congratulated me and gave me this really nice card ^^

Then we headed into the school to get my diploma and grades. We tried to go in through the front doors; normally, those are the only doors we can go in through. But this time, apparently, we had to go through the side doors, so we headed back and went inside. I got what I needed, and we headed out to the car.

Upon arriving home, I promptly raided the 'fridge. I emptied a bottle of iced green tea (Yum!), then went in search of food. My brother was just eating some of those little frozen pizza-bagels. Otousan was going to order a pizza, but they were closed =P So he suggested that we go to Steak 'n Shake ^___^ Rich was kinda mad, because he had to go to bed, so he couldn't go (he's still in school).

On the way there, we talked about our trip next week. Otousan has flown before, so I'm glad that he's going with me (I'm very height-phobic) While we were eating, we saw several other students from my HS; Todd and Samantha, then Abby's family. On the way out, we got chocolate shakes (Yuuuum!)

And, by the way, does anyone know a good place to download Gensomaden Saiyuki mp3s? I have a few, and currently have Mirai's "Open Up Your Mind" running through my head ^_^

Now, I'm tired, so I'm off to bed ^_^

Kitsune-chan rambled at 11:45 p.m. on Thursday, May 22, 2003

~~ Preperations ~~

*Sigh* I had to get up early today, to go to my graduation practice. Our principal (who will henceforth be known as Mr. Useless) directed the thing. We just had to go down into the tunnels below the main floor of the gym, then walk up in a certain order and go to our seats. Seems simple, right? Wrong. Apparently, we messed it up badly enough for Mr. Useless to chew us out. =P

Senior Banquet was right after Baccalaureate, at a nice restaurant at the golf course. I sat with my usual group; Brian, Brittann, Daniel, April, and Chase. As usual, our conversations were wide-ranging and quite 'interesting'. We decided that either Brittann or I should run for president ^_^ And Brian and Chase kept offering to pay Daniel to say or do wild things (that are totally out of character for him) ^^ Our class sponsor talked to us, then our class president. They gave out the Senior Mosts and Bests. Brittann got the 'Most Unique' ^_^V She totally deserves it. Then, for some unknown reason, they had a magician. Yes, a straight-from-a-children's-party magician. He had a few funny moments, but was mostly corny. We had more fun teasing him than watching his act ^^;; After he finished, they talked to us for a few more minutes, then let us leave. Before we did, they gave us some glasses with our Prom's logo on it to take home. Now, I didn't work on our Prom, I didn't go to our Prom, but I tend to be nostalgic, so I went ahead and took them ^^ Then we finally got our special tassels for our mortarboards for being in the National Honor Society ^^

When we got home, I heated over some pasta, and now I'm going to bed. ^^

Kitsune-chan rambled at 11:55 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21, 2003

~~ The End of an Era ~~

Well, today was my last day of High School...That thought still boggles my mind. It doesn't seem like it should be over already! Of course, everyone was typically sentimental. Pictures were taken, yearbooks were signed, and everyone tried to make the most of the time we had left.

I took my oral final in my Spanish class, but other than that, I didn't really do any work today. I've already made up my mind; I have to come back to visit some of my teachers next year. I've had three of my all-time favorite teachers this year, and I'm gonna miss them a lot. I have to come back to visit Blackwood-sensei and Sipes-sensei, and of course Señora Slider.

We goofed around a lot in Blackwood-sensei's class today. Troy tried to make us some more coffee-slushies (he made them earlier this week), but no one remembered to bring a blender, so he was stuck with cold coffee and milk. He tried mixing it together, but everyone agreed that it wasn't very good ^^;; Sam and Adam played with Blackwood-sensei's little chair on wheels...pushing each other around the room, and generally being silly. This is actually quite normal; well, more normal than Adam and Rick's battle with erasers yesterday *L*. We all signed the board, and yearbooks were passed around. Blackwood-sensei gave each of us a little plant to take home. This is special, because they came from her own plants, which decorate the back of her classroom. Her room is unmistakable; the back of it (where the windows are) looks like a jungle! She has several large plants in hanging baskets, each one having tendrils reaching almost to the floor ^_^ She told us that she had been raising our little plants since the beginning of the year, so that we could have them when we left her. She also gave us little coins with an inscription on it reading "Guardian Angel: Protect us all, giving strength when we might fall, watching, guiding, lighting the way thru the night, and every day." with a picture of an angel on the back. I thought that was really sweet. ^_^ ....Kami, I'm going to miss her class so much....

I went in and sat with Señora's 7th hour class. We were going to watch a video and fill out a worksheet (it was the last in a series), but Brian (who I was supposed to do it with) was feeling lousy, and he hates the video series, besides, so Señora said that we didn't have to watch it. ^_^ So we just sat around that hour; we all signed Señora's yearbook and ate little mini-muffins ^_^

After that, in 8th hour, I got to sit and talk with Jason, Daniel and Bobby for the whole hour. It was quite amusing. Daniel kept trying to show me defensive/offense techniques (with Jason as the victim >.< ) Bobby was...his typically unusual self. Jason just wanted to sleep ^^;;;;

After school I finally got to watch the DVDs I bought yesterday; I got Vol. 5 of Inu-Yasha and Vol. 1 of Saiyuki. Very nice. ^_^ Plus Jason gave me a copy of Slayers Premium and Slayers Return (both fansubbed). Premium was quite amusing, but the CD with Return on it wouldn't work ;_; I'll ask him to make me another copy the next time I see him.

After I watched my anime, I had yet another 'adventure'. My grandmother called me into the living room; she said something about a bird. So I got up and went in there. Sure enough, there was a small black bird perched on the doorframe. The poor thing was terrified; the cats were gathering around it. So we had to try to shoo it outside. For some reason, it wouldn't go, and eventually fell to the ground. My grandmother picked it up (in a towel), to take it outside. When she got out onto our porch, though, the towel was empty. So, we were walking around the living room and out onto the porch, trying to see if we could find it. Well, we did find it; it had latched onto my grandmother's shirt and was still hanging there! She managed to pick it off, and went outside with it (again). This time, though, she managed to release it.

*Chuckle* Wow...I've been typing on this entry for almost a half hour now. Now that I've finished, I'm going to bed, 'cause I'm tired.

Kitsune-chan rambled at 10:34 p.m. on Friday, May 16, 2003

~~ ¡Una dia muy divertida! ~~

Wow. Really long time, no entry. This is due to the fact that I've been alternately very busy, and very bored. =P

I'm in a relatively good mood, 'cause I got to miss school today to go on a field trip with Señora. We went to see Justo Lamas in concert. It was great ^_^ I really enjoyed the performance. I'm quite fond of Justo Lamas' music, and he was just plain amusing to watch on stage *G* He was constantly moving; dancing, or just hopping around. ^___^ It was great; he had the audience singing and dancing right along with him. It was very interactive. He even brought several people up on stage; several kids had a birthday, so he sang 'Feliz Cumpleaños' ('Happy Birthday')to them. Then later, he brought a group of kids up and they learned to salsa so they could dance during one of his songs. Plus, my school's Flag Corps. performed during one of his songs; that was kind of cool ^_^ A girl from my class went up on stage and translated "Eres Tu" into sign language...That was pretty neat, too. ^_^

He even talked with the audience a bit; since his English wasn't good enough, he had one of the teachers stand on stage and translate for him most of the time (when he didn't have a translator, Daniel translated for the kids sitting around us ^^)

I sat with Daniel. I kind of felt sorry for him; he kept wincing as the girls behind us were screaming fan-girlishly...granted, I can't really blame them; Justo is quite bishy, on top of that voice of his ^______^

After the show, we bought souveniers; I got a CD. I got the album called "Justo para Tí". I'm now officially addicted to "Eres Tu" and "Ángeles", among others. ^_^ I've decided that I plan to acquire the rest of his albums *nods seriously* ¡Me gusto mucho la musica de Justo!

By the time we finished, it was time to eat lunch, so we headed over to the local Mexican resturant (yeah, we're predictible...so what? ^^) Señora had called ahead, so they had already set up a section for our group to sit. I ended up sitting around Brandon, Anna Kathryn, and the two girls I roomed with at GlobalFest.

The resturant was, in itself, an adventure ^_^ Since there were so many of us, the staff was having a bit of a problem keeping up with us. They brought us baskets of fresh tortilla chips; those lasted 5 minutes, tops. Seriously, we inhaled them, and on a couple of occasions asked for more ^^;; After a while, they started to bring our food out. The problem was, half of the kids apparently didn't fully know what they had ordered. The waiter would bring a plate and say what is was, asking who had orderded it. Half the time, no one responded. Someone would say that maybe it was theirs, so he would leave it. After a couple of minutes, though, they ended up bringing Señora over to ask her about it. Almost every time, the food they had been given wasn't what they'd ordered. Eventually, though, everyone got what they wanted ^_^ After the food was taken care of, they had to deal with the sodas; most of us had already emptied our glasses, and wanted more. However, we couldn't get any waiter to stay around long enough to tell him about it. At one point, Brandon acually went to the front, carrying as many glasses as he could hold, and got them filled. Yet, for some reason, he returned with 4 glasses of water, when Anna Kathryn was the only one who wanted it ^^;;

As we were finishing up, Daniel told one of the waiters that it was Anna Kathryn's birthday (it really wasn't) so, staying true to the near universal tradition, they had to embarass her. They brought out this huge blue, sparkly sombrero and promptly put it on her head. They also gave her some fried ice cream in a tortilla-shell bowl. She wasn't very pleased with Daniel after that. ^^

After we all finished eating, we headed back to school. As usual when on a field trip with the Foreign Language group, the bus ride was quite entertaining in its own right. ^^ We got back just in time to go to 7th hour; we were hoping that Señora would let us go home, but she said we had to go to class ^^;; So I sat around in my Electronics class and listened to my Justo Lamas CD ^^

Oh, and I got my term paper back a couple of days ago...I got an A- on it. I'm relieved...I didn't exactly think I'd fail it, but still, it's nice to know ^_^

*Sighs* Just tomorrow, then one more week of school...It's kinda hard to believe, actually. The 16th is the last day of class for me; I graduate on the 22nd. These next couple of weeks are going to be really busy! I have 4 different banquets/ceremonies to go to on 3 different days, not counting graduation, and practice for it. Plus, the Tuesday after Memorial Day, my father and I have to fly to Virginia to see about this scholarship/internship I applied for. I have to get a polygraph and medical test, while they process my background check. Who will I be working for, you ask? If I tell you, I'd have to kill you. *L*

Kitsune-chan rambled at 07:26 p.m. on Thursday, May 8, 2003

~~ Happy Easter! ~~

Today is Easter, so of course, I'm watching The Ten Commandments. I've seen it a million times, but I still watch it every year ^_^ I've been munching on Easter candy, and watching my new Inu-Yasha DVD that okaasan gave me for Easter ^^

Today's the last day of Spring Break =P That means that I have to find a way to concentrate at school tomorrow. *Gags*

Kitsune-chan rambled at 09:56 p.m. on Sunday, April 20, 2003

~~ Yay Boredum! ~~

Ah, yes...blogging, along with quizzes and surveys are a very good way to kill time when you're bored ^_^ So, I'll do two at once: here's a survey I found online.

I borrowed this from Mitsu.

BASiCS
001. name : Kathryn Lynn
002. nicknames : Kitsune, Kat, Kitty, Kate
003. sex : Female
004. birthday : December 30, 1984
005. age : 18
006. star sign : Capricorn
007. place of birth : Illinois
008. current residence : Illinois
009. hair color : Light brown
010. eye color : Brown
011. height : 5'9
012. writing hand : right


____BODY iLLS + SKiLLS
013. do you bite your nails : Not unless they get jagged, then I compulsively bite/clip them back into straightness ^^;;
014. can you roll your tongue : No
016. can you raise one eyebrow at a time : A little
017. can you blow smoke rings : I hate smokers!
018. can you blow spit bubbles : No
019. can you cross your eyes : Yeah
020. can you flip your eyelids out : Ewww...no
021. tattoos and where : None!
022. piercings and where : None!
023. do you make your bed daily : Not usually ^^;;

____CLOTHES
024. whut goes on first, bra or underwear : O.o Ano...
025. which shoe goes on first : Usually my right one
036. speaking of shoes, have you thrown one at someone : Probably, at some point in the past. Sometimes I get violent when I'm angry ^^
037.much money is usually in your wallet : I'm poor usually
038. what jewelry do you wear 24/7 : My watch
039. whats sexiest on a guy : Intelligence ^_^
040. whats sexiest on a gurl : I like guys, but if I did like girls, it would still be intelligence
041. would you rather be on time and look ok or late and look great : On time! I've never cared how I look ^_^V

____FOOD
042. do you twirl your spagetti or cut it : Twirl
043. how many cereals are in your cabinet : More than I can remember
044. what utensils do you use eating pizza : It depends
045. do you cook : Not if I can help it, and then only microwavable things ^^;;;

____GROOMiNG 046. how often do you brush your teeth : Yup
047. how often do you shower/bathe : Every other day, otherwise, I end up looking like the Swamp Thing...My skin and hair get really oily =P
048. how long do these showers last : It depends
049. hair drying method : I let it dry on its own; I hate hairdryers =P
050. do you paint your nails : Never.

____MANNERS
051. do you swear : Sometimes, though not around my parents
052. do you spit or swallow : ??
053. do you spit in public : Ewww...No!
054. do you pee in the shower : *Gags* Gross! Of course not!

____iN + AROUND
055. the cd player : Nothing; mp3s are my musical preference!
056. person you talk most on the phone with : Jason
057. what color is your bedroom : Light yellow, deep red, and hunter green
058. do you use an alarm clock : Sometimes
059. name one person your obsessed with : Himura Kenshin *Glomps Ken-san* (Sorry, I don't obsess over real people. I'm weird that way *G*)
060. have you ever skinny dipped with the opposite sex : No!
061. ever sunbathed in the nude : Absolutely not!
062. window seat or aisle : I don't like to fly...*Is afraid of heights*
063. whats your sleeping position : On my side, usually my left
064. what kind of bed do you like : I have a full-size, but I want a king-size ^_^
065. in hot weather do you use a blanket : Sometimes
066. do you snore : Ask my cat; he'd know.
067. do you sleepwalk : Not to my knowledge
068. do you talk in your sleep : Another thing only my cat would know ^^
069. do you sleep with a stuffed animal : No, but I do have lots of cats who sleep on my bed, as well as a bunch of pillows
070. how about the light on : Nope, but I do leave other things on.
071. do you fall asleep with the tv or radio on : I always leave my TV and computer on at night. ^^

____WHEN WAS THE LAST TiME YOU
072. had sex : Look at who you talking to! I won't do that till I'm married!
073. were kissed or kissed someone : Touch me--die.
074. watched bambi : Not since I was very little
075. cried : I don't remember
076. talked on the phone : Several days ago
077. read a book : Last night
078. punched someone : Younger brother

____THE FUTURE
079. where do you see yourself in 10 years : Working hard, hopefully in love and married (NO kids, though *Gags*)
080. who are you gonna be married to and where : My soulmate, whoever he may be.
081. how many kids do you want to have : None! I HATE kids!
082. your profession : Computer programmer
083. future school : SIU

____FRIENDS
084. who is your best friend : I don't have many friends...maybe Jason
085. what friend do you hang out with the most : Jason
086. what friend makes you smile the most : *Shrugs* Dunno
087. friend that you fight with the most : None
088. one you talk to the most online : Jason
089. friend that you miss the most : None

____MUSiC 090. is music important to you : YEAH!
091. do you sing? : Yeah...I couldn't carry a tune if my life depended on it, but I still like to sing ^^
092. what instruments do you play?: None =P
094. what do you think of Eminem : *Gags* No talent. At all.
095. in your opinion, what band is the best of all : I like a lot, but if I had to pick just one, then I'd have to say, (in English) The Beatles and (in Japanese) Two-Mix

___DO YOU LIKE
096. pop music : Only JPOP
097. rock music : Only 80s-ish
098. punk music : No
099. rap music : No! *Gags*
100. hip-Hop/RB : No
101. country : Yes, but only the happy stuff
102. jazz : Yes
103. classical : Yes
104. new age: No
105. what is one band/singer you absolutely love that no one else does or seems to have heard about : I prefer Japanese artists, none of whom are widely known outside their particular base of fans (that is, anime/JMusic lovers)
106. last word : Spiffy!

Kitsune-chan rambled at 02:15 p.m. on Saturday, April 19, 2003

~~ Books, Books, and More Books ~~

I just finished rereading the Harry Potter series. ^_^ Yeah, that's what I've been doing these past couple of days. ^^ I read Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets on Wednesday, Prisoner of Azkaban on Thursday, and then Goblet of Fire today. I can't wait for the 5th one to be released!

Yesterday, my mother and I went to the mall. I have a job interview of sorts, and I needed some clothes that were "business casual" =P So I spent the morning trying on clothing. Not fun. I dislike this kind of clothing, so I didn't have a very pleasant morning. However, to make up for it, we stopped in the mall's Sam Goody store, where I bought the first two Inu-Yasha DVDs. *BG* Very nice. The only thing that dampened this was the fact that I was half-sick =P

Man, it's already Friday...It's hard to believe that Spring Break is nearly over ;_;

Kitsune-chan rambled at 10:54 p.m. on Friday, April 18, 2003

~~ Whadya know...PS2 has a use other than playing FFVII! ~~

*Yawns* I really love Spring Break. Sleeping in and staying up late makes for one happy Kitsune ^_^ Yet again, I didn't do all that much today.

I went with my okaasan and obaasan to the store to buy things to make a cake with. *S* Lemon cake is goooooood. ^_^ After that, I talked with Jason for a while. That was nice, 'cause I haven't heard from him for several days.

Also, I got a copy of the Inu-Yasha: Sengoku Battle domestic release today. For those who don't know, this is an Inu-Yasha fighting game for the PS. 'Tis very nice, it is. But then, it has Inu-Yasha...and Sesshoumaru...*Drools*

...ahem. Sorry about that. You gotta remember, I am a fangirl, after all, and thus I'm prone to drooling over bishounen ^^

I played through the story mode several times, trying to unlock all the characters. So far, I have Inu-Yasha, Kagome, Shippo, Sango, Miroku, Kagura, Sesshoumaru, and Koga. Then I played two-player battle mode with my little brother for a while. It was interesting. ^_^

I finally changed my desktop theme...Now whenever I turn on my computer, I'll be greeted by Sesshoumaru ^_^ Tomorrow, I can play Sengoku Battle some more...Ah, yes...Life is good ^n_n^

Kitsune-chan rambled at 02:32 a.m. on Tuesday, April 15, 2003

~~ And The Obsession Returns... ~~

Ah...Sleep is good. ^_^ I slept until 10:00 today; and I only got up then, 'cause okaasan woke me up. Not long after I got up, my mother and I went to Wal-Mart. She wanted to buy some bird feeders, to put outside our window. She got three feeders (a Finch one, a normal one, and a Hummingbird one) and a stand to hang them from. After we had everything, we headed over to the electronics section.

I promptly picked up a copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on DVD. *BG* Life is good. I didn't get to see it while it was playing in theaters, so I was very happy to finally get to see it. Granted, I have read all the books, so I know what happens, but it was still fun ^_^ Like the first movie, they did a pretty good job adapting it to the screen. The thing that struck me was that Harry, Ron, and Draco's actors had all obviously aged (it was mostly that their voices were deeper). Granted, this is certainly understandable; it was just kinda weird. But the movie was still good ^____^

Now, I'm off to go reread the book series! Yay!

Kitsune-chan rambled at 09:07 p.m. on Sunday, April 13, 2003

~~ Freedom! ~~

I'm finally on Spring Break! Yay! We got out at 2:30, so I've not been home all that long. I took the dogs for a quick walk; it's so pretty outside here ^_^ Warm and sunny. Very nice *G*

At the moment, I'm talking on the phone with Jason. This is interesting considering I'm listening to music and blogging (obviously =P) and he's eating. I can hear his kitty meowing in the background...kawaii!

We had a pretty easy day, so there's not much more to say, except that I fully intend to start enjoying Spring Break right away; that is, I will stay up very late tonight, and sleep very late tomorrow ^_^V

Kitsune-chan rambled at 02:51 p.m. on Friday, April 11, 2003

~~ Jinchuu no Yume... ~~

Okay, you know you're an otaku when you start dreaming about anime characters. ^^;; Now, I haven't even been watching that much anime lately, due to being busy (maybe that's the problem *G*)...yet, I had this dream last night. Now, I usually don't remember my dreams, but I remembered this one (or at least part of it)...I dreamed about Yukishiro Enishi (from Rurouni Kenshin). It was...unusual. Enishi was his usual revenge-hungry self, but he was more vulnerable, somehow...like he never quite changed from the little boy who lost his only sister. Like most (from what I've heard) anime-dreams, the otaku is there, as well. I don't remember it really well (it's been all day, after all ^^;;). I just remember being around him, and comforting him when he was upset; holding him, stroking his hair (it was really soft ^^), that sort of thing.

O.o Yeah. I'm nuts. I know. Now, I've never had an anime-dream before (that I remember). Somehow, I always thought if I did, it'd be about Kenshin. I was a little surprised that I dreamt about Enishi. Don't get me wrong; I love Enishi ^_^ He's one of my favorite RK characters.

*G* Ah...Today was...interesting. Besides that dream, I turned in my term paper. *Crosses her fingers* Hopefully I'll do well on it. Also, I had a Spanish test *Prays that she didn't fail!* Aiya...And I had to listen to one of those annoying military recruiters during my afternoon Electronics class =P

Well, I'm home now (obviously ^^;;), and I'm in a relatively good mood, 'cause tomorrow's the last day before Spring Break (and we get out early! Yay!)

Kitsune-chan rambled at 04:48 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, 2003

~~ RK OAV: Mini-Review ~~

I just watched my new copy of Seisou Hen. From what I'd read online, most fans either love it (New RK! Yay!) or hate it (You evil $(*@^#! Look what you did to Kenshin!). I'm actually somewhat of a fence sitter on this one. There are things I like about it, and things I don't like.

Pros:

First of all, there are clips from the thus far unanimated Jinchuu Arc. Now, I love Enishi and the whole Arc in general (it's tied with the Kyoto Arc for best in the series). Thus, I was thrilled to see some of it (however little) animated. Enishi was actually pretty bishy* considering the OAVish art style. Plus, seeing Enishi and Kenshin cross swords for a moment was fun ^_^ And, they even included a few scenes to show that, while Eni-kun is kinda nuts, he's really not all bad. (See his page in my Harem for my full lecture on the subject ^^;;)

Another thing that I liked was that you get a better insight into Kaoru's character. Now, I'm a Tomoe fan. For those unfamiliar with RK's 'ultimate question', I'll elaborate. One of the most hotly contested subjects in RK is this: Who makes a better couple? Kenshin/Kaoru or Kenshin/Tomoe? I've always preferred Tomoe, myself, though not to an extreme point. That is, while I feel that Tomoe's love was truer, and she understood him better, I think that Kaoru does care for him and could make him happy. Now, after watching Seisou Hen, I'll admit that I begin to rethink my position slightly. Before, I never really took Kaoru's affection for Kenshin that seriously. I mean, it's obvious that she likes him, but she never seemed mature enough to give him what he needs in a wife. I mean, she is only 17. But in Seisou Hen, you see Kaoru's point of view better. I still like Tomoe better, but now I admit that Kaoru is almost as good ^^

*= bishy - adj. From the Japanese bishounen, meaning (in otaku context) 'a very attractive man'.


Cons:

There were two major things that I didn't like. First, that they had Kenshin go to running around, and eventually go to China. I honestly cannot see him leaving Kaoru and Kenji like that. I mean, throughout the series, there are several instances when he shows what he would do to protect Kaoru. He even once said (paraphrasing here) "In order to protect Kaoru-dono, I will become a manslayer again!". Now, the one thing he really fights against throughout the early part of the series (when this was said), is just that: he doesn't want to revert back to Hitokiri Battousai. But he would be willing to do so, if it would save Kaoru. He's very dedicated to the people he loves...I don't believe that he'd abandon them like that.

Now, some of you will bring up the time he left for Kyoto, leaving Kaoru behind. The circumstances were totally different. Leaving for Kyoto, he was the only one who could stop Shishio; he had to go, or else the country would be taken over and many innocents would die. Leaving for China, he was just depressed and wanting to "share the peoples' suffering" in order to atone. Now, to me, this is WAY out-of-character!

Second was the way they treated Kenshin. In the conclusion of the manga, Watsuki-sensei finally granted Kenshin peace. He settled down with Kaoru, had a son, and passed on his sakaba-tou. He was happy. In Seisou Hen, it was even more emotional and even some physical torture, not just for Kenshin, but for Kaoru as well. The ending (which I will not spoil) is depressing, and for a Kenshin-lover like myself, inherently upsetting. Watsuki-sensei wanted Kenshin to live out his remaining days in peace and happiness, not pain and grief. So, I cannot accept this alternate ending (that's what it is, really, since it's so radically different from what the mangaka wanted)

So, like I said, Seisou Hen has its good and bad points. It's up to the viewer to interpret it, I guess. *Shrugs*

Oh, and I archived my older posts again ^^

Kitsune-chan rambled at 06:35 p.m. on Sunday, April 6, 2003