My Passions
Manga: X, CCS, Basara, KKJ, Rurouni Kenshin
TV: Buffy, Home & Garden Network,  National Geographic tv
Reading: A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin
Biography: the Rock
Biseinen:  Kusanagi (X), Fuuma (X), Touya (CCS), The Red King (Basara), Cho (RK), Bob (Husband)
Cat of the moment: Nabiki
Fanfic in progress: "Shinjuku" (X); "Dinner at Ucchan's" (X); RK story featuring Saito and Cho.

Where I go
Fortune's Fools
Dreams of Sakura
Sekai Seifuku
Elitist Bastards!
X Island
Anime on DVD
TheOneRing.net
Vulpes.org
The Queen of Cups
Green Man Press (Charles Vess)
Kaluta Studios (Mike Kaluta)
Pitas.com

Who I know
Satsuki-chan+++ pointless +++
LikaUnder Thlyali's Thrall
AmmieCastle of Briars
Alison Shinken
Kerianne the Space Between
Subterfuge Archive Font of Wisdom

Gomen nesai!

Urrrgh, shouldn't blog when feeling tired and icky....

Lika-sweetie, I love your fic (I love all your fics, you know that). The subject of adultery hits a hot spot with me, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't write about it!

I don't like adultery. Yeah, it's true that marriage is not all fun and games. You get mad at your spouse, you get tired of him, you get tired of the life you've built together because it wasn't really what you wanted, the sex is mediocre or bad or nonexistant. Sometimes, he forgets that you have a life outside of the house, that you need attention or affection. He doesn't send flowers or buy presents or make you feel special anymore--you're married, why bother? But that's no excuse to be disloyal. If you hate it all so much, then have the courage to say so and either make changes or leave. But sneaking around and sleeping with someone else is just stupid. Yeah, it's quite possible to be in love with two people at once, but life is all about choices.

I think adultery happens because people go into marriage with stars in their eyes and they don't really understand what they're getting into. Or else, they're addicted to the "fireworks" type of love (that infatuation stage) which fades after awhile.

Karen is in love with Aoki and he cares for her. And he is married. But should something happen between those two? It might, X is all about angst. But I think it would hurt Karen more if he did stray, because one of the things she loves about him is his goodness. I don't know...I'm waffling here, I'd better stop.

Sorry, the rant is not very good. But I DO like your story Lika and I'm not mad at all.

Saturday, November 3, 2001 08:10 a.m.

We don't need no stinkin' pagename!

Well, finally posted the final two chapters of Wings of Desire. I really don't like that last Kakyou chapter, but after 3 days of messing with it, I kind of gave up and said, go forth. There is nothing more I can teach you, grasshopper. I hate writing endings.

I have some kind of funky stomach bug that is just making me exausted, so no progress on my other fics. Sucks, but there you go. However, I did finish the first and second Harry Potter books, and am now completely hooked. Will work on third book tonight.

Despite icky stomach, hiked 4 miles today, including 2 miles up and down a bluff. There's just something magical about going out to the woods and hiking around, even when the leaves have already fallen. I can't describe it.

Lika, remind me to rant later about your latest fic and what I think about adultery. I lost my previous rant (dang pitas!), and am too tired right now to rant again.

Friday, November 2, 2001 09:07 p.m.

Hallow Blog!
And after that boooooooring entry: Social Blogging!

Alison, thanks to you, I will never ever again be able to watch Tampopo in the same light. Now a plot bunny is jumping in my head of adapting The Funeral (Sei-chan's of course) with the DOEs and DOHs...*shakes head* No! NOOOOOOOooooooo!!!!

Don't worry, I would have given that woman all kinds of grief for barging in front of me. But the thing about older people is: they really DON'T CARE what you or anyone else thinks. When we were selling our house, some old lady knocked on our door at 7 am one Sunday and asked to see the house. When I was explaining to her that she should talk to the realtor, she WALKED IN THE DOOR and started looking around the house. That's with Bob and I both standing around in our pajamas. And we could hardly throw her out...she was like, 80-something and had a bad hip. Only the very old have that kind of gall!

Dang! So many entries..how can I keep up to answer?! I agree, I, too, prefer biseinen to bishonen, although if you'd asked me when I was 16, I might have said something different! I think I like Kusanagi because he's a tall, big, muscular guy. I like built guys. (Bob is not built, but he's tall and big, so two out of three ain't bad.) I don't mind the skinny guys, so long as they're tall. But the height thing has to be there, or else it just doesn't work for me. Keiichi gets cute points because of his height, btw. Oh, and I'm so sorry to have shattered your innocence. But you had to learn the truth some day, chica. Sex is not just something that happens between beautiful young men. XD XD XD

COOL LAYOUT!!! And will we see anymore of your horror stories again soon?

Hang in there! Hopefully, the Holy Child and her Priests will not be too much trouble this time. Oh, and dang, mailing something to Europe is freaking expensive! Sheesh! (Evidently, they're jacking up the prices because of the anthrax scare). Expect something in about 2 weeks or so.


Wednesday, October 31, 2001 08:52 p.m.

All Hallows

In this town
We call "home"
Everybody hail
To the pumpkin song!

Ah, Halloween. My favorite holiday! Although, as we know no one here, we're not going out or anything tonight. Bob got home just in time to do door duty (I did it last year), and he reports that the costumes are pretty lame this year and no one is telling any jokes! I keep telling him that the joke thing must be native to Des Moines, because no one told jokes while Trick or Treating when I was a kid in Texas, either. He just seems to figure that the kids need to work harder for their candy.

Actually, for me, Halloween is a religious holiday as well, and a time to sit back and think about life and death. I'm not too good on the subject of death, really. When Mirrim (my favorite cat) died of cancer last December, a number of well meaning people told me she would go on to Cat Heaven, and I didn't have the heart to tell them that I really didn't believe in heaven or hell. Not that I'm sure I believe in reincarnation either, per se. All the stories that I've ever heard about "Past Life Experiences" are quite suspect and some rather ridiculous. I think life is more precious when you realize that one is all you get and when you die, you're gone and that's it.

Your rant about "Pleasantville" was quite interesting in that regard. Life is a precious thing, and we should all try to experience it to the fullest and do what we want in the time we have, because after the moment is past, then that's it, it will never come around again.

However, time spent enjoyably is never "wasted". I just spent two horrible years putting off my life because of a job that I should have walked away from long ago. It was so important to me to succeed at my work that I forgot that succeeding at being happy is far more important.

Bob is irritated with me because I'm spending too much time reading and writing now. But I'm happy doing this. I wasn't doing it before because I was miserable most of the time. He's got his work that is exciting and interesting and important. I have an underpaid clerical job that I'm ridiculously overqualified for. Can he blame me that in the evenings, I want to write, or read, or draw rather than be the good little hausfrau? I don't care that his mother was satisfied doing that...I'm not his mother.

So, this Halloween, I bid farewell to my life in Des Moines and it's miserable memories and say hello to a more enjoyable existance in beautiful Dubuque.


Wednesday, October 31, 2001 07:56 p.m.

Rant-o-rama!
You know, Lika-chan, I have yet to see anyone comment on the Kusa/Yuzu relationship. I guess I don't hang around the same places. Or else, no one bothers to say anything to me, because I've made my preference quite clear. I'm very much for Kusa/Yuzu. I don't care about their ages.

But, for the record, my opinion on the age thing. You're right. It's kinda hypocritical to diss Kusa/Yuzu and cheer on TB Seishiro/Subaru, because we're still looking at very similar age differences. The only real difference is the fact that Subaru was a boy and Yuzu is a girl. That, and the fact that Seishiro was deliberately toying with Subaru while Kusanagi was just being friendly.

However, neither Subaru nor Yuzuriha is "too young". The age of consent in Japan is 13. Yes, 13. And there is a cultural idea of an older man with a younger girl there, which over here is now considered repugnant. However, that's a recent development here. As many of you know, I grew up in the South and my mom is from an old Mississippi farm family (although she grew up in Florida). Two of my aunts were married by the time they were 15. (Okay, so one of them eloped and the other "had" to get married). Honestly, in my group of friends, only myself and one other girl were still "virgin" by the time we reached high school.

When I was 14, I watched as my best friend had her first "adult" relationship with a man who was 24 years old. I wasn't very comfortable about it, but that was more because I thought he was a jerk than because I thought he was too old for her. And he WAS a jerk. The relationship lasted 6 months, then she dumped him because he kept beating her up. She had a thing for older guys. She later married a man 15 years older than her. Last time I saw her, at her nursing school graduation, she was very happy.

I mean, come on, look at Rurouni Kenshin. Kenshin is 10 years older than Kaoru. Aoshi is 26, Misao is 16. No one says boo about it. It's all so romantic. You should see the lemons that are written with those characters!

I think Kusanagi's greatest sin is that he's not pretty. Seishiro is gorgeous (so is Subaru for that matter), but Kusa is a regular looking (albiet very big) guy. Yuzu is small and cute and yes, physically, she looks better with Kamui, but it's more of a brother/sister thing.

Now, honestly, I'm not sure how to read what CLAMP is doing with Kusa/Yuzu. He obviously cares about her, but he's a tough guy, so you don't have the blush and gush and mush. At least not on his side. She's obviously got a big crush on him. He thinks about her. He has met with her more than once. Per his drama CDstory, they correspond. And there's that whole X15 thing where they were holding hands and giving each other sheep's eyes. Of course, he's so manly that we'll probably never see any great declaration of love. But provided they live, I think they'll stay together.

Of course, CLAMP being CLAMP, I could be wrong. Either one of them could decide their love is not worth their convictions and duel each other to the death. But I prefer to remain optimistic. My life is angsty enough, thank you.

Wow. A serious post. Wise words, chica. I'm not X-tian myself (not anymore), and I feel for anyone going through a spiritual crisis, because I've been there. Everyone has to find their own path. But Lika, forgive me for saying this, but you don't sound comfortable with your choice. Perhaps that's just my perception, however...

Chica, give yourself credit. You're a wonderful person and a very talented artist. (And when you're feeling meloncholy, it's hard to believe, but it's TRUE.) And look for a package soon, I'm mailing it off tomorrow right after work.

And no, I'm not a virgin. And someday, if I'm feeling adventurous, I'll rant about sex. But not today. ;-D


Sunday, October 28, 2001 07:32 p.m.

Memory Lane

Came across an old homepage of a bud of mine, who I haven't seen in years. Phil (Everard) is a wonderful guy, wife, two kids, lives way out in the country, and last I heard, was making armor for a living.

I'm in the group picture on the bottom, farthest left on the row kneeling, with a red scarf on my head (everyone else was wearing green or white...I always have to be different!). I made the armor I'm wearing in the picture, plus I worked on all the tabards (the green things with the yellow dragons) that everyone is wearing.

I used to really be into the SCA and actually met many of my friends there. I was really active in Louisville, but my work in Des Moines kept me from doing much with the group there. And Dubuque doesn't have a chapter. In fact, it's not clear what kingdom it's in, either.

I keep flirting with the idea of getting involved again, but it was a very expensive hobby and I think I've moved on. Plus, Bob never really cottened to the group, which is one reason I didn't do much with them after we got together. But then I come across pages like Phil's and think "Gee, that WAS fun." and I pull out my calligraphy examples and sewing patterns and dream of going back to a time in my life where my main focus was doing scrolls or sewing garb or fighting in armor or going to tourneys. Then I wake up and remember that it took all of my time and energy to do that, and I have more of a life now.

Ah, well.

Saturday, October 27, 2001 01:41 a.m.

A home of our own

So we've closed on the house. Yay! Then went to Chi-chi's and had tangerine margharitas. Yay! And I got buzzed, because, let's face it, I'm a cheap date. Yay! Then we came HOME and I fell asleep almost immediately.

So now I'm up, but just for a little bit.

There's a nasty blow-up right now on the Elitist Bastards list, which is just painful to sit through. I've started wholesale deletion of those emails, just because I had enough stress this week. The Elitist Bastards is a mailing list of a bunch of folks who met years ago on racmx (rec.arts.comics-marvel-xmen) and who, for some reason, met in person at improptu "cons", which usually involved driving halfway across the country (or overseas) with people you had never met before and staying in a stranger's apartment with other strangers, who's only tie was that you all read the same usenet discussion group. Ah, internet culture! Strangely enough, we've stayed in touch, being there for each other as we've married, moved, gone through college or careers or relationships and generally being buds.

Anyway, I think the Bastards have been together for, 5 or 6 years maybe? We've jumped mailing lists a few times before finally settling on egroups, which was bought out by Yahoo. However, we hadn't added a new member since Bob (due to his marriage to me), and that was over 3 years ago. So we decide to accept a new member, a friend of one of the current members. He seems like an okay guy, but unfortunately, he's already stepped on a few toes. Hence, the blowup. I think the guy is going to leave the list now, probably hating all of us as being, well, Elitist Bastards.

It's too bad, because I was looking forward to a fresh perspective. I don't say a lot on there (never did), but since I've met most of the Bastards (or at least talked to them on the phone), it's kind of like hanging around your friends and listening to them chatter on. And since we're all pretty opinionated, the chatter can get, well, intense at times, but we also have known each other for a long time, so we tend to forgive one another (eventually). I don't know, I guess I just don't care for confrontation. I grew up in a household that was very argumentative, and I didn't realize how much I hated it until I got out and understood I'd rather just work things out than fight all the time. Anyway, sorry, had to vent...

Lika! So happy you're back! It was great chatting with you, and yes, I will check out that book you mentioned. I did get started on Harry Potter tonight, but fell asleep...bad Maria!

Prince Dai~iiiii, yes it is he, Dai~iiiii Sai~iiiiiki....sheesh, Ammie-chan, now you've got ME singing it..."and I can't get it out of my head, no I can't get it out of my head". And there we have the head thing again...

Hey, chica, is everything alright? Haven't heard much from you lately. Am missing your wry comments muchly.

Anyhoooo. Bob's going out of town for a few days for training, so I may do some ficcing. Also, I need to post those last two chapters of Wings...gomen, will hopefully have those up this weekend.

Saturday, October 27, 2001 01:31 a.m.