Am Crazy. Won't Bite.

weirdlyyours @ 2009-06-20T12:12:00

2009-06-20T16:15:09Z

I think the universe is telling me that I'm not destined to drive because:

01. When I went to get my permit, I forgot some identification requirement and ended up waiting hours longer than I had to.
02. The moment I woke up today, it began to rain.
03. The moment I woke up today, I clutched my stomach in pain. Cramps. Lovely.
04. When I went to do my driving test, I ended up at the wrong MVA and fell into a state of panic as my dad rushed me to the right one.
05. I failed my driving test.

But luckily, I extended my permit by a year so now I have another 365 days to humiliate myself behind the wheel.

weirdlyyours @ 2008-11-17T20:00:00

2008-11-18T01:09:22Z

There has been no water in my building and in surrounding buildings ALL DAY.

This means:
NO BATHROOMS
NO SHOWERS
NO FAUCET WATER
NO HOT WATER

This means:
Going to the bathroom in buildings where your classes are
Running to the gym when nature calls
No drinking water at the diner
No ramen

And when the promised water comes back at 7 PM, it is disgusting yellow color.

weirdlyyours @ 2008-11-05T14:39:00

2008-11-05T19:50:35Z

I am so, so, so close to being done with this terrible week.

Bio test is over.

Chem lab has been conquered (but it was so terrible. I hate chem lab).

Chem test is over. (If you care, it was OK. The problems were predictably easy and the time was predictably short and my non TI-83 calculator is predictably retarded - the one problem I know I got wrong was because of a calculation error and not a methodology error on my part. EPIC FAIL, TI-30XA.)

Now, I just have my ridiculously late and long Honors Seminar to finish and a GEMS group team meeting, and I'll be gloriously free.

Also, when Obama was announced president, our campus exploded. People flooded the sidewalks and cheered and shouted. And the entire time, I was just thinking, please stop making noise so I can study for chem.

...I'm so lame.

midterms, part 2

2008-11-03T15:40:49Z

Have I mentioned that I really hate Bio? 'Cause I really hate Bio. I studied so hard for this test (stayed up till 4:30 AM a;ldfjk;lkj) and then I confuse gymnosperms for bryophytes. WTF life. I hate mosses. There goes 10 points. So sad. :(

Also, chem midterm this Wednesday. Lots of math involving moles. I don't like moles. I don't really like math either. This isn't going to be pleasant.

And I need to get started on that English term paper. Um.

In conclusion, this week really sucks.

(By request, good luck, Rosie! ♥ And me.)

--

[EDIT]

By popular request (and by 'popular,' I mean Ani):

On Halloween, I did chem for 4-5 hours. It was ridiculous. Like, really really ridiculous. And the entire time, I was trying to rush through it so I could go down and watch scary movies with my friends. But luckily, once I finished at 10 PM (my classes are so ridiculous), I caught the end of Bloody Mary (oh Jensen Ackles, I come undone for you).

And then we watched Alien.

And then the Ring. Which, I would like to add, was really really scary. I mean, i thought I had built up an immunity to scary movies after Supernatural, but clearly I overestimated my skills. D: The little girl is so scary. Why are dead children always so scary?

Barbara was there (♥!), and she reiterated all the reasons why majoring in bio is such a bad idea. Which I've heard many, many times.

So I stayed up till 3:30 AM, and had to wake up at 7 AM (I have never woken up so early for college yet) for my service activity for GEMS100. I was grumpy and whiny, but our section leaders shoved some Dunkin' Donuts into us and we destroyed some trees, and it was fun. I was especially dorky since I started phylogenetically classifying everything. (Did I mention I hate Bio? 'Cause I'll say it again.)

...My life is pathetically boring.

Good luck, Noori on your calc and neuro midterms. ♥♥♥ Don't get distracted and work hard!

weirdlyyours @ 2008-10-29T10:18:00

2008-10-29T14:20:24Z

Well, I knew that I would eventually end up skipping Bio because it is too early, but I didn't expect to oversleep less than a week before our midterm. Fuck. :( I hate this class.

weirdlyyours @ 2008-10-19T22:58:00

2008-10-20T03:05:44Z

Some things I love about being 20 minutes away from home:

01. Being able to download music. Realistically, in huge school, I know that the Internet police is only looking for people downloading from Limewire, but still paranoid. If they took away my Internet, I might die.
02. When I forget stuff, it's really just a phone call away.
03. My PC. I love my Mac, I really do, but I can't play Roller Coaster Tycoon on my Mac.
04. Total privacy. Nobody bothers me in the basement, I can be as loud as a want, and no one looks at me funny when I drown pixelated people in computer games.
05. I'm not there long enough for my parents to get mad at me.
06. Dumplings. I miss dumplings.

roses and thorns

2008-10-11T06:32:27Z

Thorns
01. Bio midterm grades are getting posted Monday. D: I'm kind of terrified.
02. I'm behind on bio readings again. I just can't muster up enough determination to actually read the textbook.
03. Chem lab midterm coming up this Tuesday. Um. Chem lab. Midterm. I think that sums up my horror.
04. I thought I got over my cold (except for a few negligible sniffles), but today (yesterday?) I woke up at 5 AM having a coughing fit. =\
05. Tonight I went to a puppet show. The first half was about politics and world issues, etc., but the puppeteers tried too hard to be funny so all the jokes fell flat. The second half was a gay clown puppet humping/killing other puppets and then getting killed by his penis. Like. There was actually a penis puppet. And it bashed the other puppet to death.

Roses
01. abster226 is visiting tomorrow (or er, today?)!
02. Apparently, there is a pretty steep curve in chem. Like, an overall grade of 62+ is a B in her class. Except this curve happens at the very end when she's giving out final grades.
03. I watched Smallville and Supernatural with some friends yesterday. Smallville is so much better when there are people making snide comments in the room with you.
04. Just got back from a HOUSE MARATHON. House never gets old. Ever.
05. We might have another HOUSE MARATHON tomorrow because we only got through like 4 episodes today.

weirdlyyours @ 2008-10-06T10:25:00

2008-10-06T14:27:58Z

I'm kind of having a terrible day.

1. 77/100 on my chem test. Not exactly how I pictured starting out the semester.
2. Bio test sucked. He put on every memorization problem possible. The eons, eras, periods, epochs. The bacterial, archael, protist phylums. It was ridiculous. I kind of hate my professor.
3. I'm sick.

this is the sound of my gpa sinking

2008-10-03T20:55:45Z

I could create a TV series about the amount of angst I go through for every test.

EPISODE 01: CHEM TEST

01. I've been studying for this since last week.
02. This is the most I've studied for anything. Seriously. I only crammed for a day for APs.
03. I really felt I understood the material, inside and out.
04. The questions on the test were totally reasonable.
05. There wasn't enough time.
06. I hate my non-graphing calculator. I was trying to subtract 28.48 from 29.19 and it kept telling me it was 58. Fuck you, TI-36.
07. I left two questions that were eight points each, blank.
08. This test is out of 100.
09. I hope there is a curve.
10. Please let there be a curve.

PREVIEW OF EPISODE 02: BIO TEST
(coming to LJ on Monday, when I've failed it)

01. It's on 10 chapters.
02. Each chapter has >20 pages.
03. We have to memorize certain groups of bacteria, archaea, and protists.
04. We have to memorize the eons, eras, and periods.
05. He tests on the most specific things.
06. Like things he doesn't even mention.
07. How does the QWERTY keyboard have anything to do with organismal biology?
08. (The answer: it doesn't.)
09. The class average is 60.
10. But apparently there is a girl in the class who does too well.

i am a school supply whore

2008-09-28T00:41:04Z

There's a convenience store on campus that takes Terpbucks (this is a clever way of saying money, but with school spirit infused in it), and it has AN AISLE OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES. I have >200 Terpbucks to spend by the end of the semester (and the only things I can buy with it are various food items that I can buy with my diner points). This is kind of awesome.

(What would be more awesome is if the bookstore with its CORNER OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES would also accept Terpbucks. Because their selection is so much more awesome.)

...If you haven't noticed already, I'm also a parentheses whore.

College - Week 3

2008-09-18T03:53:11Z

So all that reading that I skipped out on the first two weeks of school? Starting to catch up to me. I stopped understanding what the professor was talking about in chem, so I have to actually read the chapter in the book.

Also, my honors seminar? Way too much work. It's also consuming so much ink from my printer for readings, notes, and commentary. Commentary that should synthesize and analyze the information. She's actually making sure it's a cohesive essay! Ridiculous. :(

My English class is still incredibly awesome. Today, we discussed what a conversation would be like between an unmarried, impregnated woman in the 19th century and her impregnator, and we interpreted pedophilia from between the lines of The Turn of the Screw (by Henry James). Also, my professor has the best reading voice ever. It's fantastic.

Reason 8 Why Life is Made of EPIC FAIL

I went to open a checking account at Chevy Chase, and they had some trouble getting me an account because some guy had used my social security number to open a bank account. So I had to go to the Social Security Office to get my number verified and go back to the bank. BUT THEY STILL COULDN'T DO ANYTHING.

Chevy Chase: Go to the police and file for identity theft; go to court and fight over it; and then we can give you an account.
Me: But there's been no accounts of my SSN being used--
CC: Go to the police!
Me: But that's going to take forever. I have checks that will expire--
CC: Go!

So my dad and I went. To Bank of America. And they opened an account for me. And found no signs of this guy using my SSN. And my credit report is clean.

We went back to Chevy Chase to gloat, but the assistant manager's like, "I'm not making this up. This could be a serious problem. Here. Listen to this Voice of God. You'll see." So we listened. And we heard about this guy in Tennessee who opened an account in Alabama, which was closed because of non-sufficient funds.

We listened to his address. Multiple times.

My dad has that address in his hands now.

...I'm pretty sure the bank isn't supposed to do that. All of a sudden, I'm glad I'm trusting the privacy of my bank account information to Bank of America.

But still, I have to call to get a free credit report (just in case) and we might file for identity theft (just in case) and I have to get that record of Tennessee guy expunged from my ChexSystems record.

[Tenimyu] 1000 Cranes (Yuuya/Yanagi)

2008-09-14T18:43:00Z

Title: 1000 Cranes
Series/Pairings: Tenimyu; Yuuya, Yanagi
Notes: For 31_days: September 14 / me, myself, I, and the space left for you. This is sort of part of the Parallel Lines universe (though reading it is unnecessary), except the discontinuity that Yuuya failed math in that fic, and Yuuya is good at math in this one. =\ I think I might have promised livingtea that I'd write this, oh, two years ago? Oh, also, angsty.
Summary: Yanagi is in a coma. Yuuya tries to cope.

1000 Cranes

Yanagi loves bright colors, so Yuuya buys sheets of paper in the most garish of colors: neon pinks, bright yellows, and everything that could halt cars from miles away. He stays away from white, because there is enough of that in Yanagi's room.

(Yanagi has always been tan and healthy, but now he looks like he could melt into the pale sheets and disappear into the poor thread count. Sometimes Yuuya can't tell where Yanagi starts and ends. He's afraid that one day his friend will have faded away into the fluorescent light, and Yuuya will never have noticed.)

Yuuya failed art class but folding paper is all geometry. It's a simple matter of aligning the edges together, touching one corner to another. He creates new triangles and rectangles with bisecting lines. When he's finished, he's created a bird with sharp angles and a soft body.

(Math made so much sense, the predictable behavior of numbers and clinical analyses of proofs. In math, things like car accidents involving best friends would be anomalies. In the perfect, structured world of math, best friends wouldn't only have a 50% chance of waking up from their comas. Yuuya wouldn't only have a 50% chance of hearing Yanagi's bad jokes again.)

The same movements guide the formation of each bird, and Yuuya places each new addition on his kitchen table (and then on the stools, the window sill, the linoleum floor, on top of the TV, nestled in the cracks of the couch). His fingers begin to hurt with the bend-and-stretch of his joints. His burgeoning carelessness earns him several paper-cuts.

(But Yuuya continues with single-minded intensity. Please make him better, he whispers to every bird. Please let him wake up. Please let him walk again.)

He finishes off the last piece of paper, and stares out at the sea of color with something akin to hopelessness. He isn't sure how to navigate through the paper wings. He isn't sure what to do now that he has 1000 paper cranes decorating his apartment. So Yuuya sits and hurts and waits.

(Please let him come back to me.)

weirdlyyours @ 2008-09-10T16:27:00

2008-09-10T20:41:20Z

GEMS100. Carl Burton & Ekta Taneja. M 3-4:30PM.
01. This is basically the class that helps me adjust to college life/Gemstone program (research thing that only crazy people will do).
02. It's led by a sophomore and junior who are awesome.
03. We do icebreakers. Lots of icebreakers.
04. We also play telephone charades, which is fun. (The rules are this: Divide a group into 2 teams. One team thinks up a word/phrase and tells it to the first person of the team. The first person must act it out for the next person on the team, but no one else on that team can look. And so on, until the last person in the line guesses at the word. The thing is, if one person in the chain has no idea what the person before was doing, then you're all screwed. Which is how dragon was guessed elephant. And skydiving was guessed elevator/taking a dump.)
05. Apparently, we can't escape icebreakers. Ever.

While I love GEMS100, my first Monday with classes was horrible. Since I have Bio at 9, I thought I'd just hang around/do my homework on that side of campus till my next class. So at noon, I went to English, followed by Chem at 1. Then I went to the bookstore to return a book (last day for full refunds), and ended up in line for ~40 minutes. By that time, I couldn't get my latelatelate lunch/dinner (lunner? Dinch?), and had to endure 90 minutes of hunger.

General Chem Lab. Jones. TA: Ye. T 3:30-6:20PM.
01. Horrible.
02. So, so horrible.
03. The TA doesn't seem to have any idea what he's doing.
04. The room is hot (especially under your labcoat).
05. We spent 90 minutes measuring water. That was our lab. Measuring water.
06. There are no stools.
07. Did I already mention it was horrible? 'Cause it was.

[ES21] Like Water

2008-09-06T18:15:24Z

Title: Like Water
Series/Pairings: Eyeshield 21; Yukimitsu
Notes: For 31_days: September 6 / there's an art to this. In the Happiness for Now universe.
Summary: Football isn't as easy as it looks.

Like Water

There are a few things he realizes when he begins to play football. One is that some modicum of athleticism is necessary. Two is that the ball is remarkably difficult to hold onto. No matter how much he had been looking forward to carrying the football, it slips from his fingers again and again because he isn't fast enough or strong enough or skilled enough to protect it.

He practices for hours more than anyone else, and he still can't protect the ball.

He sweats and bleeds and bruises, and he still can't protect the ball.

He runs across America, and he still can't protect the ball.

Logically, he knows that Hiruma makes the right decision when he cuts Yukimitsu from the regular team, and replaces him with two players from the basketball team instead. But still, it makes him wonder if his situation is hopeless after all.

He has never wanted something so badly. He has never worked so hard for something. But the magic addition of hard work is doing nothing to produce his desired results.

Yukimitsu clutches the football tightly in his hands and closes his eyes. There are tears on his cheeks and despair on his tongue.

College - Day 4

2008-09-05T18:50:33Z

Japan's Silk Road Music. Yoshikami. W 6:30-9PM
01. It ends ridiculously late.
02. By the time this class rolls around, I'm already exhausted by Bio, Chem, and English.
03. The teacher is so fun. She is quirky and funny,
04. We are listening to a lot of old, classical music. I'm a pop kind of girl. This is not my style...
05. I'm disappointed we can't analyze contemporary J-pop.

My biology teacher is kind of awesome. Today, we had a lecture about evolution, and he starts off with an example:

"There are gray squirrels on campus. There are gray squirrels that look black and red on campus. There are white squirrels, though they are very rare. And then there is this: roadkill squirrel. These squirrels aren't able to produce offspring, therefore their alleles are not passed down."

Though, still kind of terrified about the preliminary exam. Because, uh, I never learned anything about plants or anatomy, and the cell biology stuff? Yeah, wiped from my mind when APs were over.

(Also, he has a Facebook. Which is kind of hilarious.)

My chemistry teacher is also kind of awesome. Today, we had a lecture about classifying Diet Coke, and somehow we diverged to the topic of testing pH. So apparently, next Monday, she's buying lots of Diet Coke so we can figure out its pH. (According to some girl in the class, it is more acidic than acid rain. T/F?)

In conclusion, I have lots of awesome teachers. Now, if only college didn't include testing, I think I would be all set.

Ways That Life Fails Me:
7. It is still ridiculously hot out. It is already September, world, please stop being 90 degrees outside.

[ES21] Happiness for Now

2008-09-05T14:33:20Z

Title: Happiness for Now
Series/Pairings: Eyeshield 21; Yukimitsu
Notes: For 31_days: September 5 / 3am on a school night. Also, first time writing in this fandom, so. Feedback would be great.
Summary: Yukimitsu Manabu has always been dutiful, but never happy.

Happiness for Now

Yukimitsu Manabu knows this: the path to a secure future is to study hard and test well and enter a prestigious university that will pave the way for many job opportunities. He will become a salaryman who marries a nice girl, and they will have two-point-five children, and he will bring home enough money to feed and clothe his family. Sometimes, he will go out with his coworkers and share a drink so that they can commiserate on the ridiculous demands of their boss.

(They will sigh and wish for something exciting to happen in their lives, but each of them will go back to that cubicle and do what is expected of them because it’s a relief to not worry about where the next paycheck is coming from.)

This future is what his mother wants, what his mother dreams of, and Yukimitsu is a dutiful son. He will go to cram school and he will test at the top of his class. He will make his mother proud.

**

Yukimitsu’s desk is right by the window facing the front lawn. When he was in the fifth grade and in the process of preparing for junior high entrance exams, he would always be distracted by the sounds of his classmates playing on the sidewalk. Sometimes, there would be a mini-soccer game, or a makeshift game of baseball would form in the grass.

Once, he had gone downstairs and asked his mother if he could take a break and go outside to play. He told her that one of his books said that exercise had proven to be very important to a developing brain and the developing body. He recited statistics and drew up a very compelling argument.

His mother was compelled and told him what a smart boy he was. He was relegated to study on the treadmill, so that he could continue to review for the upcoming practice exam and be healthy at the same time.

Yukimitsu soon found articles stating that exercise could prove to be very dangerous. He rattled off numbers concerning concussions that occurred on treadmills. Soon, the treadmill was collecting dust in the basement.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be physically healthy, but running alone just didn’t have any appeal.

**

There was a tree on his junior high campus that Yukimitsu favored. He liked to sit underneath it and study or eat lunch. It was nice to occasionally change the environment while studying (and it was also effective, as research had shown).

On an otherwise unremarkable day, a peculiarly shaped ball interrupted Yukimitsu’s contemplation of his flashcards. His color-coded index cards flew around him like a multi-colored whirlwind, and in his lap, there was an oblong piece of leather inflated with air.

There was a small group of people who had been tossing the football around before a moment of distraction (the girl he liked walking past the field, Yukimitsu later learned) caused a player to throw the football with more strength than he had intended. The boy apologized, and then he asked if Yukimitsu wanted to join them for a game or two.

Yukimitsu was tempted, and his fingers twitched around the white laces of the ball. But then he remembered that his mother somehow knew everything that happened in his life, and her hysterics and lectures were getting more and more long-winded.

He declined their offer, and clumsily (regretfully) tossed the ball back. After that, more often than not, Yukimitsu stared at the football instead of at his notes.

**

For two-and-a-half years of junior high, he came straight home from school to study the material covered in his highly acclaimed school. Then, he would go to cram school to study material that might be included on the entrance exams for the highly acclaimed schools that his mother wanted him to apply to.

Halfway through his third year, he finally managed to convince his mother to let him join the community service committee on the student council. (She quickly caved when he juxtaposed the percentage of student council members gaining entrance to a prestigious high school against the percentage of regular students who did.)

A week before his entrance exams, the committee was scheduled to do some weeding for a park. The day had dawned cloudy and gray, and by noon, it was pouring mercilessly. Yukimitsu ran home as quickly as he could, and like the health textbooks advised, he was going to step into a hot shower to prevent the stirrings of a cold. However, his mother caught him at the door, yelling about how much time he was wasting doing extracurriculars when the tests were one week away. Yukimitsu barely managed to change into dry clothes and grab a towel before he was buried in his books once more.

He wasn’t particularly surprised when he woke up with a fever, but his mother was furious. Yukimitsu didn’t do very well on his high school entrance exams, and his mother never allowed him to do any more after-school activities.

The only school that admitted Yukimitsu was Deimon High.

**

Yukimitsu is realistic. He knows that because all he’s ever done is study (excepting that brief stint on the treadmill), he is a poor athlete. All his muscles are weak and untrained, except those in his right hand, which have been used since he was little to write the answers on test after test.

His brain has demanded too much of his attention.

But for a moment, Yukimitsu felt hope when he saw Eyeshield 21 race down the field. Despite Eyeshield’s amazing background, he is still human, and comparatively speaking, Eyeshield is shorter and skinnier than Yukimitsu. If he can become the ace of Deimon’s American football team, then surely Yukimitsu can make it onto the regulars with some hard work.

He is nothing if not tenacious, and he will never lack in persistence and effort. If Hiruma wants him to climb up Tokyo Tower on foot towing a huge bag of ice, then he will do it. He will dodge bullets, run from terrifying dogs, and endure the sweltering heat. Because no matter how exhausted he is, and no matter how much his muscles protest, this is his last chance. This is his only chance.

Just another floor, he tells his weary body, just another door, just another meter, just another step. As if the opening of the door was a signal, all of Yukimitsu’s muscles slacken and he collapses in a heap on the ground.

Hiruma says, “Pass.” There is the cheerful sound of bullets ricocheting off the metal supports of Tokyo Tower. Yukimitsu sprawls on his back and stares at the blue, blue sky.

It had been two years, eight months, and seventeen days since he last held a football in his hand, but his fingers still tingle with anticipation at being able to hold it once more.

**

Yukimitsu Manabu knows this: he will never become an amazing football player. He won’t even come close. He starts running on this road seventeen years too late, and he has no hidden potential or God-given talent to fall back on.

He will always be mildly envious of people like Shin, who have worked hard and have glorious results to show for it, and he will always be extremely irritated with people like Agon, who have such fantastic gifts but waste them completely.

He will always admire Sena, who showed him that a person like him, who has atrophied buried underneath his books, can also run side by side with champions on the football field.

His life will follow the careful plan that his mother has laid out for him, but for now, he will lie to his parents so he can keep running on this long, green field.

Yukimitsu muscles burn as he struggles to catch up to the backs of his teammates, and he thinks that this might be what happiness tastes like.

College - Day 2

2008-09-03T21:42:54Z

Organismal Biology. Delwiche. MWF 9:00AM
01. The time sucks. I adore biology. I hate mornings.
02. This is the third in a series of bio classes that I placed out of thanks to AP. We have a preliminary exam on the subject matter taught in those classes. I haven't done actual bio since junior year.
03. He says that to brush up on aforementioned subject matter, read chapters 1-24, 50-55 in the textbook. Dying.
04. Delwiche is kind of awesome. Very informal, very blunt, very fun.

Introduction to the Novel. Auchard. MW 12:00PM. Th (discussion) 2:00PM.
01. I took this class because we get to read The Great Gatsby. I love that book.
02. The teacher is very cool. He says insane and quirky a lot. I love insane and quirky people.
03. We discussed the sexual implications of Little Red Riding Hood. Apparently, it's told to children because parents don't want their child to be raped in the metaphorical woods or preyed upon by sexual predators. Oh. And also, they'd rather we not fall for the bad boy (big bad wolf) and instead marry the surgeon/lawyer (woodcutter).
04. The first two readings are rife with sexual implications, apparently. I'm kind of excited.
05. I don't think I actually have to self-study for this class (besides reading the selected books). Which is awesome. I hate self-studying.

General Chemistry. Dixon. MWF 1:00PM. T (discussion) 2:00PM.
01. The teacher is enthusiastic and fun. That promises good things.
02. We have to read chapter 1 of the textbook. It's 32 pages long. I loathe textbook reading.
03. We get extra credit for signing her door. That's pretty sweet. I love extra credit. (I will need extra credit.)
04. This class is huge. The room is massive.

Chemistry Lab. Jones. T 3:30 PM.
01. I just downloaded a .pdf file that was 7 pages long and told me all the ways I could fail this class.
02. I hear labs suck. I'm not looking forward to this.
03. I hear the teacher sucks. I'm really not looking forward to this.
04. We have to buy so much crap for this class: labcoat, goggles, labbook, lock, 2 lab breakage cards. I have done a ridiculous amount of waiting in lines at the University Book Center spending ridiculous amounts of money.

I have Japan's Silk Road Music tonight, which promises to be easy if not fun. It's an honors seminar though, which means I'll at least have a small class so I can actually interact with people. Because I haven't really interacted with people in my classes yet, as they are large.

I also have my Gemstone introductory class on Monday, which promises to be fun because our team leader is really chill and awesome. Also, we're reading Fight Club, which automatically makes my section awesome (and apparently, we get to watch the movie, too). It might be the only class that doesn't have serious homework, besides writing journal entries (about life, not about research) and sending them to our team leader.

Ways That Life Fails Me:
4. I stood in line for like thirty minutes buying lab stuff. When I get to the counter, they're all out of locks.
5. I bought a labbook. Afterwards, I get an email saying I need one with alternating carbon-copy rip-out sheets.
6. It's ridiculously hot out.

Why I Fail At Life

2008-09-02T19:50:43Z

Or, alternately, why life fails me:

1. First day of classes. My first class starts at 2PM. I forget my pencil case.
2. My first class (Chem) ends after ~15 minutes.
3. My second class (Chem lab) is supposed to start ~40 min after my first, so I wait around on some benches. Turns out, labs don't start till 9/8.

In conclusion. I should never have left my room today.

Happy Early Birthday, Noori

2008-08-24T21:05:05Z

♥ HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOORI! ♥

Because the next few days are going to be really, really chaotic, and I have no idea if I'll be able to access the Internet on your birthday, and I have no idea if you'll be able to access the Internet on your birthday, you get your gift(s) three days early!

While you're at Brown, remember to keep in touch and get on the Internet a lot (so I can chat with you during classes) and STAY AWAY FROM THE POT. Don't be academically dishonest, and try not to procrastinate so much (I will try not to, as well). Also, finish ES21 so I can flail with you lots.

Here are your presents:

This is the most I've written in a long, long time. Never say I don't love you. ♥

The Dark Knight

2008-08-22T13:43:18Z

Yesterday, I finally, finally got to see The Dark Knight, which was really amazing and completely lived up to the hype of months and months of viral videos. In comparison with Iron Man, I'd say I preferred Iron Man more, only because I like lighter and happier movies. And though Iron Man was slightly dark when dealing with war and the weight of responsibility upon Tony Stark for making weapons that end up hurting those he wanted to protect, it was buoyed by Stark's sense of humor.

Bruce Wayne kind of has too many issues to be as comedic as Tony Stark.

But TDK was a great study of human behavior, and Heath Ledger's Joker was absolutely fantastic: just this side of insane, chilling, and frightening. However, I still question the realism of the scene with the two ships. Maybe I'm just too cynical, but I was surprised when the prisoner threw the detonator off the ship. Surprised and happy, because that kind of was the happy ending of an otherwise very dark film. Through most of it, humans were proven to be selfish and grasping as they willingly hurt others for their own purposes. But at this climax, they show that human beings are not inherently evil, and that people are willing to sacrifice themselves to not harm others.

In any case, jen_in_japan does meta for the film much more eloquently here.

Onto more superficial things in the movie that I loved:

The Batmobile! The opening scene when it was basically an obedient pet. "Loiter, Batmobile. Intimidate, Batmobile. Sic them, Batmobile!" Awesome.
Bruce Wayne slumped into his chair, out cold, as a Very Important Business Meeting goes on.
The dinner at the Very Expensive Restaurant, where Harvey mentions that it took him three weeks to get a reservation there and Bruce is a complete brat.
The Russian Ballet. The looks on Harvey Dent and Rachel's faces as they walk up to the theater, and there's that newspaper cutout taped on the window saying that Wayne had absconded with the entire ballet.
The Hong Kong fight where Batman gets back on the plane. So cool. Also, the morning after when Lau is out cold with a sign around his neck, that says he should be delivered to Jim Gordon.
Lucius Fox: Let me get this straight: You think that your client, one of the wealthiest, most powerful man in the world, is secretly a vigilante who beats criminals to a pulp with his bare hands. And your plan is to blackmail this person? Good luck. (Ahaha, the look on Reese's face as he tried to come to terms with the fact that Bruce Wayne was getting his hands dirty. Priceless.)
The conversation between Bruce and Gordon after Bruce totals his Lamborghini. Dude, that poor Lamborghini. :(
How Batman appears out of nowhere all the time. I especially appreciated when Gordon leaves the interrogation room, turns on the lights, and Batman was right there.
Batman kicking ass. The fight with the SWAT team as member after member get tangled up in that string/rope and they dangle out the window. I can't imagine how quickly he had to process the scene and think through ways to protect the hostages, disarm the police, and dodge bullets. I find that an interesting juxtaposition between him and Superman, for instance. Superman could've just super-sped through the warehouse and flown the hostages to safety as the SWAT team looked on blankly. But Batman has to make up for not having superpowers by using his intelligence. Which kind of makes Batman amazing.
The Joker, putting the laughter in slaughter.
Alfred! There was not enough Alfred. :(

weirdlyyours @ 2008-08-19T22:55:00

2008-08-20T02:57:37Z

I think I might be turning into a pyro. I've gone through two boxes of matches in the past thirty minutes, just watching paper burn. Now the basement smells like smoke.

Behind the Wheel: Last Session

2008-08-17T00:14:12Z

Instructor: Well, you're driving much better than last time.
Jenny: Yay.
Instructor: Though you could use some more practice with lane control and changing lanes and not turning too much on winding roads.
Jenny: OK.
Instructor: *gives Jenny a terrified look*

So yea. Me/Driving? We're not working out so well.

Quick Recap of My Life

2008-08-14T03:35:43Z

(I'm not dead, I swear. Just... really, really lazy)

College - I can whine and gripe about being a mere 20 minutes away from home, but this just means that when I inevitably forget something, I can call up the parents and tell them to bring it within a day. Also, they sent me a crab mallet, a bib, and some Old Bay. I think that automatically makes my college better than yours. (Though I am not looking forward to sharing a bathroom with 50+ people. The price of attending a huge university.)

Driving School - I think I might stick to public transportation for the rest of my life. The theoretical was boringly easy, but the actual driving? Not so much. I fear ending up with my right sideview mirror smashed into pieces from a collision with a mailbox because I always, always drive too close to the curb.

Fandom - Rewatched/reread basically everything. (Highlights: Prince of Tennis ending? Kind of really unsatisfying. Also, EYESHIELD 21? KIND OF FANTASTIC, OH MY GOD. ♥♥♥ I REALLY LOVE THIS SERIES. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT, READ IT.) Started/finished Avatar, which is oh my god, so great. I wish it hadn't ended. I wish there was another season. Why isn't there another season. :((( Got sucked into Nabari no Ou. Might get sucked into Code Geass (if Abby has anything to say about it).

Summer - Mostly trapped in my house, except for driving school for two weeks (with Abby!), so even all my RL friends think I'm dead. But this week promises of kidnappings so that I can, you know, socialize (which I'm kind of terrible at). Also, need to buy stuff for dorm and laptop for classes and convince my parents to let me take my computer to school because I really am very attached to my PC.

Today (or Yesterday, rather) - Was basically kidnapped by Susan and Keisha (who actually showed up at my house unannounced, wouldn't tell me where we were going, and dragged me out the door). Kind of embarrassing as I was asleep when they rung the doorbell, but the county fair was fun, the ice cream was delicious (if not horribly overpriced), and BINGO was totally rigged. Totally. Nice to unexpectedly meet up with Soraya at the fair, especially since we were considering kidnapping her when we passed her house on the way. Sushi, Chinese food, Super Smash Bros. All very good things. ♥!

Dark Knight - WHY HAVEN'T I SEEN THIS MOVIE YET? SOMEONE TAKE ME TO SEE IT, PLEASE. :(((

Also, my writing's a little rusty and this is my first attempt at writing in this fandom, but a drabble born from days and days of driving school:

Title: Untitled
Series/Pairings: Hikaru no Go, Hikaru/Akira, car
Notes: PG-13, but really nothing happens at all; very short (like, very very). Mostly for Abby, who suffered through driving school with me (though she's much safer to have on the road than me).
Summary: Hikaru buys a car. It's a good investment.

Hikaru falls in love with a bright yellow Volkswagon Beetle and buys it immediately. He emblazons '555GO' on the license plate and stares at it with pride, petting the hood affectionately. Touya shifts uncomfortably against the passenger door. His lavender suit and pink dress shirt clash horribly with the paint job. Hikaru's fingers twitch.

"Sometimes, I wonder if you're colorblind," Touya says dryly.

"Pot, kettle," Hikaru murmurs absentmindedly, well-used to this argument and pleasantly preoccupied with purring endearments at his car. "Don't listen to him, Go-mobile. He's just jealous you're better dressed."

Touya ignores him and continues, "And you do realize that you don't actually know how to drive."

"Go-mobile has a greater purpose than getting stuck in traffic all the time," Hikaru proclaims, lifting his eyes from the car and finally focuses on Touya.

"Oh?" Touya shifts again, even more uncomfortable under Hikaru's intense gaze. Hikaru prowls forward with a predatory grin spreading across his face.

Later, Touya concedes that the Go-mobile is not a waste of money, and Hikaru is more than satisfied with how the yellow paint job looks against Touya's bare skin.

[Giftfic] Kiss It Better (Tenimyu, Yuuya/Yanagi)

2008-02-26T23:23:15Z

Dear abster226 ,

Today, I stumbled down the stairs and into the car, then into school and through some lab about elasticity. I wrote the date on my Vocabulary Quiz in AP Lit, and felt like I was forgetting something. When Colin Firth dove into a lake (quite arbitrarily) in the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, I giggled at his UST and remembered that today was your birthday.

Oops, I thought to myself and panicked because really, nothing had been standing in the way of writing a giftfic, and all I could claim was senioritis and laziness and complete lack of inspiration. But since my classes were all fairly unproductive, I brainstormed and I thought and I drabbled.

And that resulted in this. Which is very unbeta-ed (though mostly grammatically correct, because you know me) and rushed, and I'm not even sure it's very good because it was done on an hour of sleep and between recitations of katakana. I'm pretty sure my transitions suck, though, because when have they not?

Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this and please don't have a party this Sunday as I will be trapped in someone's house, trying to piece together a literary magazine.

Love,
Jenny

Title: Kiss It Better
Series/Pairings: Tenimyu, Yuuya/Yanagi, Shirota
Notes: I like how the first lines of all my fics always seem like non sequiturs...
Summary: Clearly, Ueshima-sensei was on crack when he cast Yuuya as Echizen Ryoma. He would have been much better suited as Oishi Syuuichirou.

Yuuya hates the gym. He hates the way people flex their muscles, hates the smell of sweat, hates the thought of ruining his precious sneakers on the treadmill. Yuuya does not understand why anyone would want grossly oversized biceps in the first place.

He goes anyway because Yanagi and Shirota go. He is uneasy at the thought of them together in a testosterone-packed room. He is afraid that they might do something they'll regret. He is worried that Yanagi will get hurt.

He is not jealous.

**

Yuuya can smell the stench of sweat halfway down the hallway and it makes him wrinkle his nose when he walks through the doorway. The gym hums with treadmills, punctured by the occasional clank of weights, and is filled with men in various stages of undress.

He thinks this might be what hell looks like.

Yanagi is easy to find because he is with Shirota, and Shirota is the tallest person in the room. He notices a lot of men glance Shirota's way before resuming their workout with renewed vigor. Yuuya is suddenly glad that Yanagi does not share their inferiority complex and take up weight training to compensate height with muscle.

Shirota sees Yuuya first because Yanagi's back is turned. He gives Yuuya a mischievous smile and lets him walk up quietly behind Yanagi, who is contemplating the punching bag.

The commotion Yanagi makes when Yuuya slings an arm around his shoulders (they're so small, Yuuya thinks, so bony and skinny. I wonder if he's eating right. I wonder if he's eating at all) draws eyes to their group again. Yuuya stifles laughter when their eyes snap to Shirota and snap back on their training. He wonders what Shirota would say if he knew he was the reason for many people's low self-esteem.

Yuuya has paid the admissions fee but does not use the equipment. He sits on a nearby mat, shoes tucked safely under his knees, and contents himself watching Yanagi thump the punching bag. Occasionally Yanagi meanders over and teases Yuuya for being a sissy, a bore, a weakling, and Yuuya smiles and retorts that he's the Echizen Ryoma with brains, thankyouverymuch; but mostly Yanagi stays with Shirota, who hovers over the smaller man and makes sure he doesn't get hurt.

He asks Yanagi to dinner after he's showered and doesn't smell quite so bad, and Yanagi grins at the prospect of free food. Yuuya waves goodbye to Shirota and cannot stop the pleased smile that crosses his face. He tells himself that he wants to feed Yanagi because his friend is unbearably thin, not because Shirota looks like he wanted to ask first.

**

When Yanagi had gotten in the accident and Yuuya had been called to replace him in the musicals, Yuuya dreamed about the Seigaku locker room. He was stepping past rows of small boxes: Takigawa Eiji, Kimeru, Gomoto Naoya; and paused at the locker at the very end, the one with "Yanagi Kotarou" printed neatly on a small white label and a dusty jersey waiting for its owner's return. Yuuya reached into that locker and pulled out a crumpled hat with the letter "Y" stitched on its front, red and blue thread standing out against the stark white, and placed it on his head. He was smiling.

Yuuya remembered waking up gasping, unbearable guilt leaving the taste of bile in his mouth. He knew it was necessary because Kimeru couldn't be Ryoma—couldn't stand trying to replace a boy who was in a coma. He wondered why they thought he could.

**

When Yuuya goes to the gym a second time, Yanagi slams the bag too hard and it swings back at him. Yuuya is on his feet but Shirota is already there, an arm around Yanagi's back to keep him from falling. He scrambles over and tries not to hyperventilate.

Yuuya is frantic, worried, and anxious, moving his hands everywhere to make sure nothing is broken, twisted or sprained. Yanagi laughs, telling him to stop, that he's fine, that he wants to keep training.

Shirota looks hesitant to say yes, but gives in to Yanagi's wishes anyway. He pulls his arm away reluctantly and lets Yanagi stand on his own two feet. Yuuya is much more vehement about Yanagi sitting out.

"You're going to hurt yourself. What if you break your leg? Or your arm? What if you crack your head? This is too dangerous," he rambles, "I don't want you to get hurt."

The previous laughter on Yanagi's face fades away into a carefully neutral expression, but Yuuya knows he's irritated. He can see the tightness around Yanagi's lips and the way Yanagi's eyes become shuttered. "I'm not an invalid, Yuuya. I'll be fine."

He doesn't understand Yanagi's anger. Yuuya is only trying to look out for Yanagi, keep him safe from everything that might hurt him. He had failed once before, and that had landed Yanagi in the hospital: his best friend, who could break-dance and sing and act, in the hospital with a diagnosis of permanent paralysis to his right side. Yuuya's not sure he can handle another phone call like that, so tries to make Yanagi understand that this is for the best.

"I can do things on my own. I don't need you mothering me," Yanagi tells him. A small furrow indents his forehead, and his left fist clenches.

Yuuya stays silent for one beat, two, and imagines the nightmares he had a year and a half ago. He closes his eyes and breathes deeply. "You're not going to listen to me, are you?" he asks quietly.

"No, I'm not."

Yuuya stares at Yanagi's determined and angry face for a moment and nods, quick and short. "Okay," he says, turns on his heel, and leaves the room.

**

The problem with trying to avoid someone you work with is the sheer impossibility of it all—especially because everyone has pegged you two as best friends attached at the hip. Luckily, all scheduled photo shoots this week do not just contain Yanagi and him; Shirota has made the list as well.

The problem with trying to avoid someone who actually is—was?—your best friend is the sheer torture of it all—especially because every time the photographer flashes his camera, Yanagi moves imperceptibly towards Shirota until their hands are touching. Luckily, Yuuya has good self-control and can rein in his urge to kill.

The problem with self-control is that it frays at the edges, and Yuuya's not sure how long he can pretend that he doesn't care.

**

Surprisingly, it is Yanagi who breaks the silent treatment after a week of cold-shouldering.

("Kaji, please remind Yanagi that we have a photo shoot tomorrow."

"Kaji, please remind Endou that I am not an idiot, and I know we have a photo shoot tomorrow. Please remind him to wear something presentable, because if today's outfit is any indication of what he has in his closet, then he's going to end up dressed like a colorblind farmer.")

"I have two free coffee coupons for Starbucks," Yanagi tells him mechanically. "Come with me."

Yuuya stares at the clock, which tells him it's time to go home, and Yanagi, who's scrutinizing the blank wall across the room like it's the most fascinating thing he's ever seen.

"That wall is whiter than the other walls," Yanagi says abruptly.

Yuuya squints at the wall. "Yea, it is."

There's a long pause, and Yanagi glances at him for split-second before turning his attentions back to the wall. "Well?"

"I could use some coffee."

The trek down the street is uncomfortable and tense. Yuuya wonders just how many awkward silences they will try to fill in between sips of coffee and considers buying a slice of cake. Chewing can take up a few minutes.

**

Yuuya finds out he doesn't have enough money for a slice of cake, so he sits at his usual table, hands fidgeting around his warm cup of coffee. He worries his lip. He taps his foot. Yanagi continues to pretend that he doesn't exist.

"So, how are you lately?" Yanagi finally asks.

Yuuya stares at Yanagi, who is still staring straight ahead at the beige walls of Starbucks. "Um, fine," he ventures, unsure if Yanagi is speaking to him at all.

"That's good." Yanagi pauses. "I'm fine, too, in case you were wondering. I haven't broken a leg, or sprained an ankle, or gotten a concussion. Surprisingly, I can take care of myself. I know that may come as a shock to you, but it's true."

Yuuya winces.

"Though I did get a papercut earlier today. I was afraid I was going to bleed to death, but then I remembered that papercuts couldn't actually kill me. Neither does almost falling at the gym on soft mats."

"Did you disinfect it with alcohol?" Yuuya asks stiffly, holding back the urge to examine Yanagi's finger for any bacterial infection.

Yanagi shoots him a wry look, as if he could see through Yuuya's cool facade to the mother hen underneath. Clearly, Ueshima-sensei was on crack when he cast Yuuya as Echizen Ryoma. He would have been much better suited as Oishi Syuuichirou. "No, since my best friend wasn't speaking to me and he's the only one who carries a first aid kit in his backpack."

As if those words where a trigger, Yuuya bends down towards his bag with a snap and pulls out a box of cotton swabs and a bottle of ethanol. He reaches for Yanagi's hand imperiously, and Yanagi laughs as he offers him the wounded finger. There's no pink swelling yet, but Yuuya isn't going to take chances. He gently dabs Yanagi's finger with an alcohol-soaked swab, then wraps the injury with a bandaid (one that has yellow smiley faces dancing across the back).

"You know what'll make it stop hurting?" Yanagi asks, laughter threading through his voice.

"What?"

"If you kissed it better."

Yuuya blushes, wonders if he's been so transparent all this time, but kisses the beleaguered pinky softly. He can't meet Yanagi's eyes across the table, and instead busies himself by reorganizing his first aid kit.

"For being so observant of my injuries, it seems you've missed the papercut on my lip."

Yuuya looks up at that, and replies with a sardonic, "Oh?" and a raise of his eyebrows.

Yanagi's eyes dance merrily. "Well, stop shirking your boyfriend duties, Yuuyan. Do your job and kiss it better."

Yuuya is much more enthusiastic than appropriate when tending to his injury.

(Yanagi doesn't mind at all. Neither does the barista working behind the counter, who had fifty dollars down on Yanagi and Yuuya hooking up before February was over.)

**
end

Yes, I do realize I still owe you lots of fic, livingtea.

school - day 1

2007-08-28T21:12:41Z

I actually like all my classes (so far, since there are 2 more that I haven't attended yet), except for AP Lit (pd. 1) which is scary and a little terrible. My teacher is rather monotonous, and she expects us to write elaborate and detailed introductions/conclusions that span pages in a 40 minute time frame. I fear for my GPA (my sanity and my poor, poor writing hand).

I expect that many of my classmates will be falling asleep during class since it is first thing in the morning (which is also terrible).

Also, Jane Eyre is still very boring and for 100 pages, nothing happens. Thus, I still have not finished my summer reading (though it doesn't seem to matter anymore as I already know the essay topic and Sparknotes/Cliffnotes is god).

AP Human Geography (pd. 3) is fun, Ms Thomas is fun, and the people in my class are fun.

SRP (pd. 5) is horrible, but this may be because I am biased and hate research and hated my internship this summer (but the class is bearable and Ms Ragan is nice).

AP Psych (pd. 7) is kind of awesome. Ms Jessell is really laid back (and fun!), and I mean. It's Psych. What could go wrong? (Well, except for the part where David Jia is in my class, and poor Haoxing, because where he goes, David Jia seems to follow.)

Marine Bio (pd. 8) is Dr. Miller and room full of magnets. There is nothing better. No, really. (I explode with love at this class, and especially Dr. Miller who hands out stuffed sharks and octopi. She is truly the embodiment of all things awesome.)

Tomorrow, I go to my Japanese and Biochem classes. Nothing can go wrong, for Japanese is in its first year (and thus easy), and Biochem is taught by Ms Bosse, who is hilarious and sarcastic and so laid back that she doesn't even flinch when people start talking about questionable things (and people talk about many questionable things, trust me).

So hoorah! Besides the fact that I'm terrified of AP Lit and all it entails, my schedule is delightful and full of delightful people. (Except I may have to change it because I'm missing a second period, and that is apparently unacceptable.)

Now I must go nap before I tackle my insurmountable pile of homework (and yes, on the first day of school. This does not bode well).