fishpatrol

1. I knew yesterday's weather was too wonky to be true (shenanigans!)! theweathernetwork.com changed the forecast for Friday down to 25C...which still sounds pretty good for a picnic by the lake, hmm...

2. Long weekend coming up! I've been looking forward to this since Reading Week. I now live for holidays. Also: I suck as a grad student. ;;;

3. I've always liked the idea of having postcard-buddies! There's something decidedly novel about exchanging snail mail in the age of instant messaging. ;) I will buy a bunch of postcards from Chinatown and possibly scribble and doodle all over them (unless you prefer your postcards pristine).

Anyone interested in exchanging postcards with me? :D

4. eta: People (in RL, parents included) keep urging me to get a Gmail account so we can G-chat and whatnot, but I already have a Gmail account and am unwilling to open another one. The problem with the current Gmail account? I opened it a couple years ago and it shares the same username as my old LJ account (lack of foresight there, past!self >__O). If anyone Googles that username, my old journal comes up in the search (along with LJ friends who've mentioned that name), along with my Deviant Art account and my y!Gallery account (both which I should probably delete...). My ff.net and fictionalley.org accounts could probably be easily found as well. I guess I should just open up another account and have all my mail from the previous account forwarded or something.

1. I saw trailers belonging to the director/producers/actors/stunts people for Warehouse 13 today, on my way to the library. I admit that I would be much more curious about where they were filming if Joe Flanigan was a regular cast member. ;)

2. Canadian-flisters: do you guys have any recommendations for no-fee credit cards? My current one is going to be replaced by a different one (with a worse reward system) in a couple of months and I'm thinking of switching banks.

3. One of my housemates has convinced me that I absolutely need to go traveling during the summer of my first year. China doesn't seem to be likely this year (maybe next year), so I'm considering Europe, maybe one of those student tours or something. What do you guys think? I am very inexperienced in the way of traveling, especially on my own, so I have no idea where to start, even.

1. Upstairs!opera-singer-wannabe? Please stop singing. :( (Or at least have the decency to use a music room that are apparently available in the building?) You sound like a 鬼. D:

2. My bamboos, Bruno and Boots, were teeny when I first bought them. And then they grew a bit. And look at them now! :D

( \o/ )

3. This is my lovely cheat sheet that I made for my stats midterm (there's a back side, too). I didn't even get to use half of the stuff I recorded, but that's probably a good thing because I really didn't understand the proofs we did in class.

4. Vid rec! SPN, Wincest, awesome use of show footage, and just kind of breathtakingly beautiful. Also, some of the most gorgeous shots of Dean. *___* Link: here.

5. I'm not much of a fan of Genevieve Cortese's acting, but she's kind of adorable-like in her I-don't-have-a-Twitter vid. Speaking of Genevieve, did she and Jared get married already? I recall a rumour of a February wedding...

6. I'm surprised at how often people confused "loose" for "lose". I just finished reading a Sam/Dean fic that was quite well-written except for the fact that the author didn't seem realize that "lose" (losing, loser) was a word and consistently used "loose" (loosing, looser) instead. My surprise mostly stems from the fact that "lose" (and its variations -- "loser", especially) appears to be the more commonly used word -- and plus, everyone knows how to spell "lost" correctly, right?

7. The Psych-out from 4x14: oh, Lassiter, you are too sexy for your gun. ♥

eta 8. I know I'll forget to mention it when the day comes (because I do every year), but in less than a week, this journal will be three years old. And in less than a month, my old journal (which I do go back periodically to check the flist) will be seven years old. That means I've spent nearly a third of my life in varying states of LJ-addiction. Wow. X3

1. Ever since W told me how Nyquil knocked her out for sixteen hours straight, I've wanted to try it. Unfortunately, I am not sick enough to warrant the Nyquil treatment nor do I have the time to sleep for sixteen hours.

I sound like a frog and my brain is leaking out through my nose. D:

2. If I'd chosen to go to Queen's, I would be a third way through my degree already. If I'd chosen Waterloo, I would have completed a sixth of my degree. However, as it were, although I've successfully survived (and passed!) one semester, that's only one-fifteenth of the way. :|

3. Today, the new second-year research assistant I was training said that I looked younger than her. In China during the summer, people kept asking me if I'd just graduated high school. In San Diego during the winter break, a prof thought I was in high school. On the plane ride home, the flight attendant asked for my age because only those fifteen and older can sit in an emergency exit row seat. =___=;; I suppose I'll appreciate this when I'm forty.

100. I don't have much to offer for help_haiti in terms of auctions, so I'll go make some bids tomorrow when I'm more awake (hopefully?). :) (and think carefully about which charity to donate to >__O)

99. Hee, this is amusing. Personally, I quite like Pachelbel Canon -- but then again, I was a first violin. ;)

45434351. All right, all right, no more procrastinating editing. I'm going to bed finish an article.

3 unpopular opinions:

1. I can't muster up any enthusiasm at all for engagements/weddings/etc. I can understand the fuss, but I myself don't experience any excitement. It's nice that Jensen and Danneel are engaged, but I can't say that I feel excited/happy/whatever for them -- I mean, I don't know them (I don't know anything about Danneel -- other than her boobs are fake, but that's just hearsay -- and Jensen's more like a fictional character to me), nor is it any of my business, but I suppose other people are more...invested in them? (at least, this is my impression garnered from poking around online. Where are all the tinhatters and conspiracy theories? Clearly I am not looking in the right places!)

Anyway, the only thing that irks me is the profuse amount of comments about how they should start having babies now now now. I can't even pinpoint why that bothers me (maybe it's about the strong association people hold about marriage and children? maybe I just dislike children that much? ;;;). I wonder if Jensen got engaged to another man (silly US laws aside), would fans be as adamant about them adopting children?

IDK, I can't offer any explanations for this opinion.

2. The amount of negativity towards this clip (SPN 5x09 preview) is somewhat surprising. The complaints seem to centre around Becky being a poor representation of fans. SPN has never been good with representing females or people of colour -- this shouldn't be a surprise to any viewer. Being female and a person of colour myself (and a fangirl to boot), if I got offended every time SPN poorly characterized a fellow woman or POC, I wouldn't even be able to watch this show -- heck, I'd have to stop watching TV altogether.

Returning to the representation of fans on SPN, the sad fact is, the most noticeable fans in real life are the crazies. On the scale of crazy!fannishness? Becky probably only rates a 5 out of 10 (wasn't there some girl, a few years back, who wore a wedding dress and jumped Jensen? I'd give that a 10.5). If Becky was written as a "sane fangirl" who was highly intelligent and provided Sam and Dean with invaluable help on a case, I'll bet half the fandom would be up in arms about how Mary Sue-ish she is. If you can face your favourite (formerly)fictional characters without gibbering (and possibly attempting to feel them up), I'll give you all my persimmons. (see point about persimmons below)

3. Now for something completely different: I like my Macbook, I really do. What can I say? I have an affinity for shiny things. Now that I've been using my Mac for a while, I can't honestly say that it's better overall than the PCs I've used. It's prettier, yes, but I don't find the whole "Now that I've used a Mac, I'll never switch back" holds true for me. I am clearly missing the "I LOVE APPLE" sequence in my DNA.


2 yummy things:

1. Persimmons -- I always forget how much I love persimmons until the fall season when Chinatown sells them by the bag. There's something about the slight crunchiness of the centre that makes me go YUM♥

2. I bought some green tea chocolates along with my fruits and veggies today. As I was omnomnoming away, I thought to myself, "Hey, self, you have hot chocolate powder and milk green tea powder -- why not mix them?" And so I made myself a big mug of chocolate milk green tea and it was delicious.


1 adorable fluff ball:

1. If all dust bunnies looked like that, I'd be willing to clean the house more often! (but where are its eyes! and ears!)

1. DED FROM TEH CUTE. There's just something about wee orange tabbies that make me go EEE♥

2. I signed up for j2_everafter with the Aladdin prompt. I think this is my first time doing a fest/challenge/etc (oh wait, no, I did some H/D art fest thing many many years ago).
I have ~*ideas*~ \o/ Jensen as a topless genie, Y/Y?

3. Speaking of crossovers, THIS IS BRILLIANT. (for those too lazy to click: Sam and Dean in Big Bang Theory -- Sheldon's face! Their outfits!)

4. There totally needs to be a J2 Macdonald Hall crossover where Jared and Jensen are Bruno and Boots, respectively, and get up to all sorts of shenanigans under Headmaster Kripke's fishy glare watchful eye during the day, and at night, sneak over to Genevieve and Danneel's room at Gamble's Finishing School For Young Ladies to cause more mayhem, and everyone (including Blabbermouth Chad and Butterfingers Mike and Crazy Mad Scientist Misha) knows that Jared is head-over-heels for Jensen except for Jensen himself and of course there will have to be Elaborate Plans and Committees and Coalitions because The World Is Crumbling All Around Them /o/
*stops now*
*...*
*eyes scintilla10 hopefully*

5. I'm going to go eat leftover pizza and watch Merlin 2x07. \o/ and maybe finally get some work done after my entirely unproductive weekend

My profile page has consisted of a single quote since I first made this journal. More than two years later, I finally put in a teeny bit more content. :D;;

It was my mom's birthday today, so we went out for dinner. I am now stuffed to the brim with sushi and never want to eat raw fish again. (until maybe next week).

I used to be a compulsive doodler in class, but seminars with three to ten people are not conducive to doodling. I haven't drawn anything since, idk, the summer? So, here, have a drawing of J2+Harley+Sadie:

( Autumn leaves! \o/ )

eta: We have Drumsticks in the freezer and I hear them calling to me, but I'm still full from dinner, so I don't know if I should answer their siren call...
Oh, to hell with it, Super Junior (on Explorers of the Human Body) say that we have a separate stomach for desserts (it's in our brain) so I'm totally going to eat a Drumstick (screw your signals, hypothalamus!). Even if I feel sick later, it'll be worth it. \o/
eta 2: Okay, that was a bad idea. (ugh, so rich and sweet) I should've listened to my hypothalamus when it said, "YOU'RE FULL STOP EATING SRSLY". D:

I really, really want this. *___* I don't like reading journal articles on the computer because of 1. the glare of the screen and 2. I get very easily distracted when my computer is on, and I don't like printing (save the trees!). This would solve all my problems! And I would also be able to read books and (more importantly) fic on the go! I do wish the eSlick was available in stores already..!

--
Snatched from sharona1x2:

01. Anyone who looks at this entry has to post this meme and their current wallpaper at their LiveJournal.
02. Explain in five sentences why you're using that wallpaper!
03. Don't change your wallpaper before doing this! The point is to see what you had on!

( Wallpaper )

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Answers from the book meme:

1. Meg, Calvin, Charles Wallace - A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'engle - guessed by postingwhore
2. Elmer, Boots, The Fish - The Mcdonald Hall series, by Gordon Korman - guessed by pornography, postingwhore
3. Daine, Numair, Cloud - The Immortals series, by Tamora Pierce - guessed by pornography
4. Ce'Nedra, Silk, Belgarath - The Belgariad series, by David Eddings - guessed by sharona1x2, kelene
5. Richard, Door, Hunter - Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman - guessed by trixie_chick
6. Richard, Alec, Duchess Tremontaine - Swordspoint, by Ellen Kushner - guessed by pornography, kelene
7. Luke, Suze, Rebecca Bloomwood - The Shopaholic series, by Sophie Kinsella - guessed by no one :(
8. Harriet, Ole Golly, Sport - Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh - guessed by trixie_chick
9. Jessica, Elizabeth, Lila - Sweet Valley series, by Francine Pascal (Sweet Valley High was okay, but I liked the Twins & Friends series the best) - guessed by pornography, postingwhore
10. Fred, Bill, George - Harry Potter, by JK Rowling - guessed by everyone! \o/

pornography is the winner with five correct guesses! Any character you want to see rendered in chibi form? :)

--
I got coffee flavoured Haagen Dazs ice cream on sale and it tastes wonderfully like semi-solid iced coffee. But, for the record, I wouldn't pay the normal price of $6~7 for that teeny tub of ice cream, delicious creamy solid iced coffee or not.

Archie Andrews pops the question to Veronica Lodge? More importantly, the Archie gang are graduating?? I totally grew up on Archie comics and read them regularly from grade three until high school. In grade six, in computer class, I created my first (and, er, only, come to think of it) website ever and it was on Archie and the gang. My laptop is named Juggie, after good ol' Jughead. I haven't read new issues of Archie comics in ages, but I'd always thought that they'd remain, y'know, sixteen and in high school forever. Some stories shouldn't have sequels (Cinderella II? Little Mermaid II? Pretty crappy idea there, Disney) and some characters should never grow up (ahem, I'm looking at you, All-Grown-Up!Rugrats). It always makes me sad when seemingly ageless characters are touched by time -- and the next thing you know, they're settling in domesticity and popping out new generations that most likely pale in comparison to their parents. And of course, it reminds me that time is passing for me and I can no longer say things like, "When I grow up, I..." without garnering funny looks and the standard response, "You're already grown up."

Nostalgia aside, I have no comment on the Archie-Betty-Veronica love-triangle. ;) This comment cracked me up though:

Leah, a commenter on the Neatorama.com blog, expressed surprise that Archie's best friend Jughead was left out in the cold.

“If he doesn't marry Jughead I will NEVER read an Archie comic again. Honestly those two have the most chemistry.”

On a completely different note, I didn't want to listen to the renovators ripping up our carpet, so I dragged my mom to go see Star Trek. The storyline was kind of flimsy, but the special effects were awesome on big screen (which was the main reason I wanted to see the movie before it went out of theatres). I've never seen the original series and everything I know about Star Trek I learnt from friends or from the internet (fics from other fandoms included XD Hey, fanfiction is educational!). All I have to say are the following things: 1. lots of shiny! I like! 2. Chekov: such a cutie, 3. too much popcorn: not good D:

I don't watch movies a lot (sitting still for 2+ hours is tough!) -- my restlessness aside, ~2 hours really isn't a lot of time for plot or character development, for the viewer to feel connected to the characters. Movies based on TV series or books are kind of nice in the way that the characters already have backstory and if you were a follower of the original source, you can easily fill in the blanks left by the movie.

Anyway, I've lost my train of thought. I think that's a sign for me to go sleep and hope the renovators don't wake me up at the crack of dawn.

1. My parents are doing renovations on the upper floor of our house and my room looks like it's been hit by a tornado. Of course they decide to finally get on with the renovations right before I move back home. >__o

2. I just finished watching Slumdog Millionaire with my parents. This is the first movie I've watched in a long time (I'm not counting Antique Bakery, the Korean movie version, because I'd only watched half and then lost interest. How did my attention span become so short??). Slumdog Millionaire was pretty good -- the cinematography was great and I loved the colours. But I wasn't at all drawn in by the love story plotline, possibly because I found Latika a weak character from beginning to end (and Jamal totally wasn't as interesting of a character as his brother was).

3.
Guess who finally caught up to the latest episode of SPN! \o/ And it only took me three months ;;; -- compared to, say, postingwhore who can zip through one-and-a-half seasons of a show in two days, heh. ;) I can't wait until the next episode, eee~ *wiggles in anticipation*

4. I'm too sleepy to provide photos for point 1 and to expand on points 2 and 3, so I will leave you all with the following link: Baseball mascots dancing to Sorry Sorry -- how cute is that??