| Hiatus! |
[July 08, 2009 @ 1:42pm] |
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mood |
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 disappointed |
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Hey guys!
I'm running off to my mom's cottage for a little while. I'll be back for a bit on Friday, and for good on Tuesday.
So request a drabble in the meantime, okay? Don't make me feel like everyone hates my drabbles. ;_; I'll really write them all this time! I swear!
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| I've Been Thinking... |
[July 07, 2009 @ 8:28pm] |
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mood |
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 creative |
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So, now that I've finished the second draft of Book 1 I feel sorta guilty because I haven't been writing much else. I've also been trying to compose an update for Tales of Tales, so give me your recs for Tales fics if you have any.
And in the meantime, DRABBLE MEME!!! Give me a character or a pairing and any other details you might have in mind and I'll write you a short fic of some sort. I know I owe people a lot from before, but let's wipe the slate clean and start over, okay?
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| Since my Academic Activity is Going to Waste |
[July 02, 2009 @ 12:39pm] |
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mood |
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 thoughtful |
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So I have quite a dilemma coming up. Without the summer courses I was going to take, I 100% will not be getting into Honours this year. So in September I'll probably take Japanese again which will bump my GPA up into Honours range. In other words, I could graduate with Honours if I go ahead to get a 6th year degree. Which sucks. Whatever. I'll figure it out next year.
However, there are a few essays that would just be too awesome to write that I can't resist. So I just thought I'd write them down here for fun and musing.
Japanese Role Playing Games and Religion
This is a big one, of course. And there are two discussions I would like to go into under this header.
1: The struggle between Native (Eastern, traditional worshiping styles) and Western (Monotheistic religions which are usually coloured to strongly resemble Christianity) religions. Let me go through my shelf and see which of my games discuss this... Suikoden III, Final Fantasy VII (to a lesser extent) Breath of Fire II, etc. In these games, there was an original, more natural religion which is being smothered by a massive oppressive religious movement. I'm not sure what they're called in Breath of Fire, but for Suikoden III it was the Harmonia kingdom, and for Final Fantasy VII you might say it was Shinra itself, but I might not go that far. Certainly the religion of the Cetra was true in the game's context, and people had strayed from it leaving the planet high and dry for support. To a lesser extent, Tales of Symphonia is also an example, except that the religion of the world had a certain morsel of truth which could be followed rather than the lies. In Symphonia, it is the institution which has the Western influence and has corrupted the natural religion beyond recognition. This is not to be confused with...
2: Religion and apocalyptic threat in Japanese games, which we can find much more often than the above. We can find this vaguely as far back as Final Fantasy VI when your battle with Kefka was accompanied by religious-sounding organ music. This is when religion is actually responsible for the coming apocalypse in games, and either religion destroys the world or your heroes destroy the religion leaving the world in a wonderful secular utopia. This theme is a bit more prominent, refusing to point fingers at Occidentalism. It can be found in Digital Devil Saga (except the religion continues) Lunar, Xenogears, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy X.
There aren't many new RPGs in consideration here because I haven't played many lately. -_-;;
Western Video Games and Religion
This is the most infuriating thing ever, lol. For the record, this began with Halo and has since expanded to Gears of War. In these games the enemy aliens are trying to kill humanity. In Halo the Covenant (the alien species) has decided that it is their religious goal to destroy humanity. This is also the case in Gears of War, but to a less obvious extent because the race they are fighting as a hive-mind. Therefore, this opposing race can absolutely not be reasoned with. This is a sign of American assumptions about religious fundamentalism and Orientalism in general.
I also could write one just on Xenosaga. XD
Anyway, that was fun to compose my thoughts on. These are the three big ones I would love to talk about. The first two I think I need to do some research on Japanese history and their actual thoughts on Western religion. I know for a fact that if you ask them if they are religious they will say no, because 'religion' to them is usually 'Christianity' and has nothing to do with the fact that they will pray and ring bells at a Buddhist shrine on New Year.
Thoughts?
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| Of course. |
[June 25, 2009 @ 10:57pm] |
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mood |
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 mou... |
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Another day, another plan that doesn't work out.
My student loan came in scraping the barrel of my calculated needs. I could make it to Korea without staying the extra week to finish my directed reading, without spending any money on anything or feeding myself any extra food or water. I also couldn't pay the school's registration or insurance fees, and I couldn't pay my father back the money I borrowed from him. I would finally leave Tim without TV or cable with our bills racking up.
In other words, I don't think I'll be going.
I'm quite depressed, but what hurts me the most is the fact that both my mother and Tim have called this a failure on their parts. "I just don't have any money to give you," they confess, feeling more sorry for me than I could have expected it. They've both also promised me a real vacation next year to Japan or something.
As exciting as that was, I think I'll be bummed for a while.
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| If I posted every time I worried about something... my LJ would be very busy and annoying. |
[June 23, 2009 @ 8:21pm] |
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mood |
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 hopeless |
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music |
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Need some Caramelldansen |
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So my plans for detouring to Japan have been canceled due to my terrible budgeting. I was going to buy my tickets out of here tomorrow (since my dad gave me a loan) and then the head of International Mobility sends me an e-mail telling me to call her because she was contacted by the student loan department.
GOD, WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUCKKKKK?!?!?!?!?! Why does this have to be so complicated~???? *weeps*
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| One Large Success! |
[June 21, 2009 @ 9:52am] |
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mood |
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 accomplished |
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At last, my friends, the second draft of Breath of the Ghost is finally complete! This is a big accomplishment. It only took me, what, three years? Three NaNoWriMos I attempted this beast, and she bested me twice. In 2007 I won her over 50,000 words, only to have her trip me up again in November 2008.
The original draft (A Vision of Spirits, at the time) was finished on November 31st, 2004. She stood at 156 pages and 74264 words. In the author's note I say that I plan on doubling it at least with detail. This time I finished it on June 18th in the morning, and with different formatting the book is 184 pages and 82,838 words. I guess I fail at writing long things. *looks at ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) cephiedvariable* It's kind of awkward thinking my books are going to be that small, for real. But I guess the second draft in means it's going to stay about this size unless I want to add some useless scenes.
I thought I had Book 2 (A Beautiful Dream) but I can't find it. Does someone still have it?
So, yay! I now have a draft of one of the first two books which is reasonably presentable!!! I'm really excited. For NaNo this year I'll start re-writing A Beautiful Dream.
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| Alrighty! |
[June 09, 2009 @ 3:48pm] |
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mood |
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 frazzled |
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Thanks for the help guys! I haven't really traveled much, so thanks for the enlightenment.
So the itinerary should be like this:
Arrive in Tokyo between June 23rd - 25th. On the 27th or 28th, I will probably get the train from Tokyo to Fukuoka, and cross to Busan on the ferry. (If it's not too much more expensive than just flying.) Class ends in Ulsan on the 28th of July, I think. Sometime after that, I get the train to Seoul. I'm not sure yet how long I'll stay there. Maybe a week, but I hope to be coming home from Japan by August 6th.
Unfortunately, my student loan has yet to find me, because we're waiting on my letter of permission. Hopefully she'll be ready by the end of the week. Ticket sales to Japan end on the 11th. I might be able to guilt the folks into buying my ticket.
I just extended my credit card limit, so I'll be getting some art framed probably today to put on sale. Please support me!!
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| Goin' to ASIA! |
[June 06, 2009 @ 11:30pm] |
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mood |
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 contemplative |
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Alright everyone! I need some help. Air Canada has a wicked sale on trips to Tokyo ATM and I'm thinking it's time to solidify plans. I just need a little adviced from you well-travelled folk (which is everyone but me, lol.)
To make a dream come true, a detour to Japan while visiting Korea seems like a great idea. However, how to handle the visit is the difficult part. While flights to Japan are on sale, it seems flights to Korea from there have skyrocketed in price for some reason. I think I'll wait on those. While HOW I get to my destination is still ambiguous, I'm still struggling with how I'm going to stay in Japan. The time difference between Halifax and Japan/Korea is 11 hours. I was planning anyway to go to Asia a few days early to adapt to the change in time zones. With a designated stop-over in Tokyo on my way to Korea, it seems like a great idea. Enjoy a huge city that doesn't sleep while adapting to the time. Not only that, but I already know some Japanese and will probably get by easier than I would alone for a few days in Korea.
Of course it seems there are a lot of advantages to starting my trip off with a few days in Japan. However, I have been dying to go to Japan for a very, very long time. I'm really worried that a stop in Japan before Korea might end up overshadowing Korea. I would love to appreciate Korean culture on its own. I don't want my head to be stuck in Japan. Emotionally, it would be good to move from Japan and into Korea as soon as possible, and appreciate Japan on my way home. But it would be much easier for me to handle since I'm more familiar with the language (and I have afuji around to back me up!)
What do you guys think? Am I thinking about it too much, or is this something totally worth worrying about? What do I doooo~?
Another disadvantage is that this route keeps me far away from California. ;_;
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| I fail at updating |
[June 02, 2009 @ 9:15am] |
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mood |
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 confused |
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Hey guys!
I finally got all of my paper stuff done yesterday. Thank god. It took forever for some reason, but it's done now so I'm going to try not to think about it too much. The class in Korea is fast approaching, so it's time to get organized, excited and nervous. I picked up my acceptance letter yesterday and I've been reading my Lonely Planet guide like a fiend so I can give it to mom so she can stop being nervous.
To be honest, her worry is totally legit what with the Nuclear testing going on in the North. For some reason, though, I'm not really concerned. The North is more likely to launch on America or Japan, I think. The two countries have been trying to mend their relationship for some time now. I imagine they'll reunite after Kim Jong Il has gone the way of the dinosaurs.
Now to wait for my student loan... sigh.
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| Randoms |
[May 18, 2009 @ 11:58pm] |
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mood |
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 loved |
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Lately, I've been hassling Tim because he likes to have the TV on while he reads. This drives me crazy and distracts me, and I've been trying since we moved in together to get used to it. Alas, it hasn't worked. So, I tell him, it's his turn to try it my way.
This morning I had nothing to do, really, and he went to work a little later than usual. I was planning on getting up at 8am, but as I was opening my eyes, he came in the room with his book and told me to go back to sleep. He propped up his pillows, borrowed my book light, and sat up to read while I curled up next to him and slept for another hour and a half, because he told me to.
<3
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| O HAI |
[May 15, 2009 @ 8:16pm] |
Hello, everyone!
Yes, I am alive. I have been around this whole time, really. I've just been distracted and sick of stuff. I want to just enjoy the summer already. After this, I get at least three weeks of no school books plz.
I was out all day and am now very tired.
Hi.
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| Stupid Things |
[April 27, 2009 @ 10:27am] |
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mood |
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 worried |
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When I passed in one of my papers at the beginning of the month, I let myself think I was on vacation because I thought if I stayed late at school anymore Tim was going to explode. Sometimes it's hard to be in a relationship with someone who isn't a student. Since, I still haven't finished my last paper because my teacher didn't really care when we passed it in, and after letting myself feel I'm on vacation, I don't really feel like picking it up again.
I told myself I would finish it by the end of April (after putting it off a few times already) and now people are finally nagging me about it. God. It's just so much work and I really just wanna doodle and read stuff and play video games. So I thought I'd vent and write a LiveJournal post about it.
I'm refusing to look at my marks until I finish this paper. For some reason, I'm really dreading my results this term.
cephiedvariable, will you edit it for me?
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| Lovely Weekend! |
[April 19, 2009 @ 11:10am] |
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mood |
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creative |
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music |
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Welcome Home ~ Coheed and Cambria |
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Had a good time hanging out with Superman on Thursday! Tried to see Jurassic Park, but it was sold out by the time we got there.
Worked on Friday and I convinced Tim to buy me the Lonely Planet guide to Korea. The teacher I discussed Korea with warned me about bitter American english teachers, and one happens to be a contributor to the book. I went through and wrote his name on every section he added in order to keep wary. Korean history is very interesting, and very war-torn as well. I find myself drawing a lot of similarities between the Korean and Vietnam wars (with my limited knowledge, of course), except that the U.S. managed to 'save' South Korea. Vietnam was lost to become a (difficult at first) but eventually happy unified nation. Korea, a country which is formed with ONE ethnic group, and a history based on that unified form is split down the centre, like maternal twins who are fighting but miss each other, yet disagree on very important issues. Of course, this is observations by someone who knows very little about Korean culture and history. I'm just speculating.
Mitch came over last night and we had barbecued hamburgers with poutine, which was fantastic. None of us could eat it all. We then played this terrible/awesome game called Ninja Blade on the Xbox. It's so over the top and halarious.
Today, Ashley - a girl I met on the trip to Animaritime - will be coming over to watch Shojou with me. Yay! A dorky weekend, for sure.
I feel like drawing stuff.
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[April 14, 2009 @ 7:33pm] |
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mood |
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 gloomy |
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Hi guys! I guess I forgot to update.
As soon as I finished a few things in school, I got sick again. I'm really pissed off! It seems to be wearing out, though. Thank goodness. I'm stuffy and sound stupid, but at least I'm beginning to regain my energy.
I have one large paper left where I get to analyze the Orientalism in a textbook on Hinduism. I was hoping to get one book, but I can't find it. Then I hoped to get the Idiot's Guide to Hinduism, but nobody has that, either. I need to come up with something, quick! I'm really behind because of how sick I got.
I've been watching a lot of a Korean drama called Full House lately. XD It's really great. I'm letting my sicky self heal up by watching a lot of it and not doing anything!! Get over it quickly please, body!!!
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| Weird. |
[April 03, 2009 @ 10:09pm] |
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mood |
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contemplative |
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It's been a strange few days. I've been groggy and frazzled and exhausted. One thing I am not is incredibly stressed. I wish I was, so maybe I could stay on topic better.
New in news on thebookblog, I just received a pile of books from Simon & Schuster. That was great. I haven't heard any news from The Printed Blog after accepting their offer, unfortunately. However, I was on the blog today for a small update, and discovered that Host Gator has a new (or just previously unnoticed by yours truly) traffic section. While Google Analytics has been reporting my traffic at less than 100 visitors per month, Host Gator has me reported for 4000-5000 visitors per month. Just as I was getting used to my peak traffic of six people a day, Host Gator comes and tells me it's closer to 80.
Sure, it's a closer and more secure form of monitoring traffic, but it's such a massive jump that I can't even believe it.
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| Win! |
[March 27, 2009 @ 10:13pm] |
So, stuff has been busy. I'm working two jobs (barely) and term stuff is due all next week, and I'm totally unprepared. School is almost over, and I can finally clean my apartment (some things need to be sacrificed.)
Today I checked my bookblog.ca e-mail to discover an offer for advanced reading copies from Simon & Schuster, plus an offer to have my work appear in The Printed Blog.
Holy crap!
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| It's March |
[March 19, 2009 @ 8:31am] |
Thanks to everyone for the birthday gifts and wishes from both Tim and I! It's been fun, And now it's nearing the end of term and I have 1234324653254 things to do. :D
Yes, it's been busy. I have school work up to my ears and then some, plus commissions and my house is a mess and I have no time to clean it. I also have application after application for Korea and related things, But I can't fill out THIS application until I find out THAT, which I have to fill out another application for. It's a crazy process.
So yes, I am going to go ahead with my trip to South Korea for school. I'm also going to do a directed reading, and I may or may not get credits for anything else there. For the sake of my Student Loan, I hope I do. I'm going to fly to Vancouver, to Seoul, and then take a train to where the University is in UlSan. After that I think I might go back to Seoul for a few days, and maybe take the ferry to Tokyo from Busan and fly home from there.
Except that the flights are really expensive...
Maybe I'll just go there and come back to Seoul to fly home. (Does anyone know a cheap airport to fly from in Japan?)
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