Delta Blue Light

AMANDA.

2009-11-18T01:01:17Z

I thought I'd never live to see one, but oh snap, yo. I just saw it.

This one is for you, Amanda.

Merry Crimbo!

2008-12-24T23:04:07Z

So, I will be texting you tomorrow with my Crimbo spam. But the others who I don't have cell phone numbers for:

Merry Crimbo!

...

2008-09-23T00:10:18Z

[20:04] jekkachan: I pooped a perfectly preserved kernel of corn today.

Discuss.

Orgasm? Hell Yes!

2008-04-16T04:01:27Z

So, this morning, I was browsing AnimeNewsNetwork, when I saw this: "DreamWorks to Make 3D Live-Action Ghost in the Shell: Steven Spielberg calls Shirow's cyber-police manga "one of my favorite stories"

Ghost In The Shell? A Live-Action movie? All I can really hope is that this goes through. We got Speed Racer goin', so this might get to have a great extra impact on the anime industry. And they might get the Neon Genesis Evangelion and Akira movie off the ground as well. We can only dream!

We're All Geeks, Yo

2008-04-13T04:25:32Z

So, the other day, I was reading the "Hey, Answerman!" column of the AnimeNewsNetwork. I see the question he asked fans from last week and scrolled down through the answers. As I scrolled, I saw one name that I scrolled passed and did a double-take. I couldn't believe my eyes, but yes, it was real. The person I saw was none other than our own Sarah Hodge-Wetherbe.

The question that was asked was:

"Hey Answerfans,

Have you ever faced ridicule for being an anime fan?"

Our beloved Sarah's answer:

"From Sarah Hodge-Wetherbe:

When it comes to others ridiculing me about being a 30 year old anime fan, I have it both very good and very hard.

I work as a librarian, and I'm very open about being an anime fan. I staff several anime conventions a year, and attend several more as a general fan. I run our libraries anime club for teens and I run a two day free anime event through the library every year. I teach classes on anime in libraries, and how teachers and librarians can choose and use good anime to educate. I order anime for our library (and I'm just as open and passionate about graphic novels)

So on one hand, I am very supported by many of my co-workers and peers in my anime fandom. Many don't share it, but they recognize the interest as no different than a sports fan.

Still, because I am so open about it, and I use it openly in my work, I do get many an adult that comes in and can't believe a librarian, (who is supposed to get kids to read books) would be promoting watching anime. I have other librarians who think I am encouraging kids and teens to become ignorant, TV Zombies by watching this stuff. They also think I'm some sort of immature Girl-Woman who never grew out of comics and cartoons, and can't deal with real adult ideas.

They don't understand the storytelling aspects, the ability to link educational themes like mythology and history to anime, the way people tap into to the art form as inspiration to create their own work. They don't get that anime is an art form with as many different kinds of stories as American cinema. I always come across folks that are disgusted and angry at the fact that I'm a fan and I promote anime in schools and libraries. I actually had an angry father tell my boss last year that I ought to be fired for being irresponsible, that I was a bad librarian.

That's why I teach these classes to try and show those who think I'm somehow less of a librarian for my love of the art form that they need to have a broader idea of what “Good” material is. \

I had a co-worker once ask me if I felt that watching cartoons made me less able to pick good material for our collection. I asked her if watching American Idol made her less qualified. We walked away with an understanding."

I can't agree anymore with Sarah's word. They are very true. I am proud that I have had the chance to work under her and hope that I will be able to do that again in the near future!

Rock on, Sarah!

Update - Showa Cultural Festival - March 9th, 2008

2008-03-17T19:21:51Z

Okay, so I'm extremely late with this post, so sue me. Just leave me with enough money, so I can spend it at Anime Boston this week. Uh... moving along now...

On Sunday, March 9th, 2008, I went to Jamaica Plain, MA, to Showa Women's University for a cultural festival held by 126 Japanese junior high school girls flown in from Japan. I was invited to this event by Jeff, who is the Secretary and Assistant Director of Operations at Anime Boston 2008.

Of course, we enjoyed ourselves and had fun. The school is beautiful and they managed to do some nice recreations to it, such as a lovely garden with sakura trees (but they weren't blossoming yet) and a pond with koi in it or a room for the Japanese tea ceremony. Very, very pretty, I though. There were lots of gifts and prizes being handed out by the girls. There were interactive stuff as well, such as taiko drumming, calligraphy writing, or games like a volleyball-type game using a paper balloon. I played with one of the schoolgirls, hitting the paper balloon back and forth. I've played badminton as a kid and a slight bit in high school, so I'm very good at rallying. But, when the paper balloon starts flying around and I hit the schoolgirl in the face with the paper balloon by accident... uh... well... Let's just move along with the story now, shall we? We wandered around some more. I watched Jeff fail at hopscotch and totally fail at using chopsticks. And we horrendously failed at calligraphy, writing our kanji-fied names.

So, overall, Jeff and I enjoyed ourselves. At the end of the event, we got to see some karate, heard the piano played by schoolgirls, and was finished off with a song from all 126 Japanese junior high school girls.

We then went for food at Papa Gino's. ...Which I haven't been to in years. Then... I went home. Hooray!

Pictures are here!

Gloomy Birthday?

2008-02-22T04:09:07Z

As the subject says, it was one gloomy birthday, alright. I suppose we can start with the bad news and move to the good.
Bad new: Around 5:00 PM EST, I enter the living room and kitchen and my mom tells me that my eldest sister had a miscarriage. ...Yeeeah, I was very much bummed after that. It also sort of reinforced my birthday curse. Apparently, people die the day before, on, and the day after my birthday. Odd how it is car-related accidents, too. Jacob (a student Joey and I know for a couple of months during our Senior year), 17th, day before my birthday. Dale Earnhardt, Sr. (he somehow randomly ties into my point here), on my birthday. And Steven/Revenant, from KoL, 19th, the day after my birthday, one year ago. As for the miscarriage, my sister called while my brother-in-law was driving home from the hospital or doctor's office. Does that count? Still, the issue annoys and irks me.

Good news: I had ice cream cake from Carvel. For breakfast (being around 1:00 or 2:00 PM for me... Ahem.) Then rice porridge after. Note, please don't do what I just did. You'll feel sick after and it's not good for your health. My brother bought me a 4 GB mp3 player from Best Buy. That was kind of him. Let's see... what else...? Oh! I got the awesome Dave/EyeSpeculum to sing "Happy Birthday" to me over KoL Radio. That was certainly awesome.

In other random news, I now know what is wrong with my PS2. Apparently, the laser/lens was screwed and couldn't read my disc. The laser can read all the other games I had, but not this one specific game. It was annoying, and with desperation (or completely annoyance, I can't remember), I opened up my PS2. I tried opening it without screwing with the VOID sticker on it, but I peeled it and it has VOID all over the sticker now. Which is completely cool. But, I opened the PS2, took a Q-tip, dipped it in some awesome isopropyl rubbing alcohol, and gently cleaned the lens with it. Then dried it with the other side of the Q-tip. Now, it works perfectly. It probably would have been better for me to buy those DVD Lens Cleaners, but I sort of got lazy. And it was in the middle of the night. Heh. Wait... now that I think about it... I opened it my damned PS2 at 3:00 AM. And I had school in a few hours, too. Note: I am an idiot.

Best news ever: I am currently watching Azumanga Daioh. And crying. From the sheer hilarity.

Birthday!?

2008-02-18T07:06:37Z

Apparently, I have revolved around the giant star we call the sun twenty times. I feel old now. Oy! You kids, git off mah lawn!

In other news, I just finished watching Burst Angel. That's a good enough birthday present for me. I love the entire cast. Awesome folks.

In other, other news, I managed to fix my PS2... with scotch tape. I am annoyed and extremely amused at my potential findings on the Internets. Look. And it worked, too. I couldn't believe it. I laughed. And... my PS2 has been sitting on and running (paused) from around 10:00 PM. It's now 2:00 AM. That's a lot of power and heat the thing is spurting out. I think I should not deny its awesomeness and allow my soul to be sucked back into it.

Let's see the rest of my "birthday" turns out.

What the...!?

2008-02-17T18:20:40Z

It's official. I hate my PS2. That's what happens when you have the really old crapped SCPH-30001 junk generation models. Apparently, it will read some of my other games but not Disc Two of Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathurstra. I spent two hours trying to figure out how to get it to work, from opening my PS2 to blow dust out of it, cleaned the game (which gave the game nice streaks, instead of the beautiful untouched complexion before *sniffles*), and unplug it to let it cool down for a while. Nothing work. Two hours blown trying to get the damned game to load. I gave up and went to bed. I was really annoyed and pissed.

I'll probably be trying again to see if it will work or if it's time to upgrade to the newer crap. Also, as I just woke up about twenty minutes ago, my mom is gone, but my older brother is here. Hooray! *Rolls eyes* ...Actually, I lied. His car is parked here, but he's not at home. Strange.

Strange Coincidences

2008-02-17T01:37:58Z

I find it funny how I don't check or dote on my phone as I used to before. Well, technically, my current "phone" does not belong to me, as it used to belong to my little sister's "friend." My old phone was my Razr, but it blew up. Or rather, it was melted into. The current phone now is a weak, crappy, and cheap Nokia. It totally sucks and lags too much for my liking.

So, as I do not dote on my phone as much, I totally missed Amber's call/voice mail at 8:21 PM and Anna's text message at 8:35 PM. I received their messages when I looked at my phone around 1:00 AM (while playing Xenosaga Episode III: Alsp Sprach Zarathustra, mind you). Yeeeeah. Amber left a voice mail as I had called her yesterday. She said that she was going to be up that night and that I could call her back. But, I decided not to, since it would be hard to talk in the middle of the night with my mom sleeping in the next room over. The funny thing is, when I got to bed (around 6:00 AM), I dreamed about Amber. We were apparently doing something together, but I don't remember what. It was highly strange and quite entertaining for my mind to play with it.

So, I called her today and we talked for over an hour. We generally talked about our lives and conventions and Anime Boston. And random stuff, such as the red rings of death on the XBOX 360 or inviting me out to her place on Independence Day to teach me how to shoot bottle-rockets with my teeth. Since my birthday is on Monday and she regretted not being able to make it out here and hang out with me (which is fine, as the woman has tons of pr0n to read. Literally. She's a doujinshi owner and stocking up to make a killing at Anime Boston), she said that she would be my date for the Cerulean Ball at Anime Boston. Stop chuckling, you asshats. :oP It will be awesome to see the good ol' group again at Anime Boston. Par-tay, yo!

And now, I think I shall return to the addicting drug in my PS2 and probably spend another late night playing it. Or reading and voicing it, in my case, as these voice actors and actresses grow on me. Heh.

Hilarious, Hilarious

2008-02-13T19:52:21Z

So, this happened about two weeks ago or so, but...

See the man in the image above? This is Vic Mignogna, a famous voice actor for Japanese animation. I've met and spent time with the guy twice.

Now, for the funny story:

I was on my way home on the T (The Boston trolley transportation system) and in front of me sat this guy. He looked like an older, more tanned, creepier of Mr. Vic Mignogna himself. Aside from the fact that he seemed to be staring at one 20-something female and looking at me a couple times, I really did my best to hide my smile and letting go of the exploding laughter I was about to release. And... that's my story for today.

Edit: Oh yeah, I forgot awesome news. Joey is going to make it to Anime Boston. Real tough guy. It will be great to see him again. Yeeeeeeah, boy!

And yes, "It's a moose on a Jew."

Interesting To... Annoying Disappointment

2008-02-04T20:26:01Z

So... I've certainly had an interesting week[end]. Let's go through it, shall we?

Wednesday: My brother yells at me for only having four classes this semester. I should have five, because I had three for the Fall and Spring semester in my first year. Y'know, to make up and all. Understandable. Thing is, there aren't any [good] classes available for me. Blah. So, I think I might have to call the school today and see if any of the Advisors can help me out. Zomg. I mean, it's not like today is the deadline for classes or anything... *Ahems*

Thursday: As there are giant gaps of time between some of my classes, I decided to take a nap. Then whip out my laptop for some Gunslinger Girl, which was awesome. I was also invited to some fancy, fancy (As I pronounce it, "fawn-see, fawn-see") dinner party with two of my Uncles, Kevin and Roland. Roland is the hot-shot lawyer who I haven't spoken to in about... two years? And I spoke to him that night. It was odd. They both asked about my [intern] job at Navigant Consulting, Inc. and wondered what I did there. Oh noes on the suspicion! Nothing too bad.

Friday: Lounged and went to work. Did absolutely nothing at work. I felt guilty, as I spent most of my time looking up for apartments (still) on craigslist. Sent three emails and haven't heard a word since. Jeez, people are annoying. I left work and went to visit Larissa's (darionlar) and Alex's (lazy mork (?)) new apartment near Central Square. It was nice. I got to shoot a BB gun for the first time ever... at a box. Nasty little bugger. Went home, ate, and went to sleep.

Saturday: Woke up, showered, dressed, and went to Julia's (cThules) house for her Groundhog Day event, which was more of a get-together and be a bunch of lazy couch potatoes. Seriously. That's what we did. Or rather, I did, as I spent almost a full twenty-four hours in her house. Basically, we would watch movies and TV shows with time loops in them. So, we watched Groundhog Day, then a Stargate: SG-1 episode, Painkiller Jane episode, The Butterfly Effect, Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, then finally Primer. I think there might have been one more... but I think I just completely forgot about it. Blah. But yeah, we were eating, drinking, snacking, etc. all day while watching. People came and left, like Larissa and Alex, but there was about... three or four of us that were constant. So yeah, it was nuts. So, it was midnight when we all started packing up and getting the hell out. I, on the other hand, started doing Julia's dishes. It's a usual thing, really. Me, doing other people's dishes. Yeah. I left her house and got to the Davis Square T Station at 12:30 AM. No Inbound trolleys were coming, as I was there for about twenty-five minutes. Man, I was pissed. So, I returned back to Julia's and spent the night on her couch. My mom and older sister kept calling my phone throughout the night, but I never answered, as I thought they might want to come pick me up or something. I was stupid enough not to turn off the vibrating alert, as I would wake up fairly periodically and hear the phone vibrating.

Sunday: So... I didn't get off her couch until 11:00 AM or so. Got home around 12:30 PM. I felt like a zombie and wanted braaaaaaains. So, I ate breakfast and took a shower. Then, I found Serenity online and tried to watch it. Got halfway through when Firefox decided to hate me and freeze it. Gah! It was getting good too... So, I rebooted it and continued watching. Seeing how it got really close to kickoff, I decided to save the last half or so for after the game. I called Joey to chat with him before the game, but I was directed to his voicemail automatically. I tried calling Amber a few times, but she didn't pick up either. Yeah... the Super Bowl... That was terrible. Aside from paying attention to my body and feeling myself shake from that sledgehammer of a heartbeat and the overdose of adrenaline, that game was full of wankery. Damn n00bs. Though, some of the stupid commercials were funny. Chris Kattan references are nice. Justin Timberlake getting hit in the head with a giant TV after liking 'em young is hilarious. Shaq as a jockey was interesting. Naomi Campbell and a bunch of lizards doing "Thriller" made no sense to me. Oh yes, next time anyone has a party, I'm bringing some giant hollow cheese and French bread. Of course, what annoyed me most was the stupid news station bringing up how the Patriots lost. I don't care about that crap! I was waiting over an hour for House, M.D. to get on. A hour is not after the game. Grr. Making me wait like that.

Monday: After that awesome episode, I retreated back into my room to finish Serenity. Then... it froze as soon as I started it. Being forced to start the load over again, I rebooted Firefox. The site that uploaded the movie took it down and I was... extremely irritated. Luckily, I managed to find another uploaded copy of it on that website, but crappier quality. So, waiting for it to load, I watched another episode of House, M.D.. Hooray! And yes, I finally finished Serenity! That made me very happy, but only wished that Firefly was still on. After that, I was browsing to see if there were any other good movies for me to watch. Gorgeous, with Jackie Chan, looked good, but English dubbed. Then funny thing was, I sat there for a little while and was like, "Hey, wait a minute! I know this voice actors and actresses!" And proceeded to name the voices that I knew. I... do that a lot, for some reason. But, I stopped, as I rather would hear Jackie's voice himself. Because he's cool, yo. So, I switched to Unleashed, and watched it for the second time. Interesting movie. Seeing how it was basically 5:00 AM, I decided to sleep. And now, here I am at work, doing nothing and taking about forty minutes to type out this entry. Seriously, forty minutes? Damn. I'm slow, yo. And I think I should... call the school. Guh.

Zomg!

2008-01-21T19:54:56Z

So yes, I suppose I should be updating my LiveJournal. It's been a month, after all.

I've come back home from Lawrenceville, Georgia. Hooray! And as I did say before, there was going to be drama. Which is obvious, when you live in a family like mine. But, I got pixplz and all that fun jazz. Lynore has seen the Snowball pixplz, along with a bacon-wrapped turkey. Listening to her squee on KoL Radio was very much worth it. <3

In other news, I didn't go to Ohayocon 2008. They were being too much of a pain for Jen and I to go to. All with the application mess and no crash space? Yeeeah, no thanks. I've been invited to go to Anime Central 2008, though. Waugh. That's in May, but may get in the way of my Finals. Who knows? We'll see.

And it looks like I'll be doing some visiting and traveling in [mid-]June! I may go to Utah to see a friend, then off to Arizona! Yay! To see sassylassy, Lynore, and all the more fun folks! <3 First, I'll need it to rain money.

And... latest news, I'm in the process of getting kicked out of the house. Basically, my mom and older brother got annoyed with my grades this past semester, that my driver's permit expired (What can I say? I'm lazy. Or... uh... unmotivated. Zomg.), that I'm registered for only two classes this spring (Which I'm in the process of changing), and how I've been being a bum around the house. Gah. Basically, I think I've been given a week to find a new place...

In more insulting news, there was no hot water today. I basically had to heat up water on the stove and do an old-school shower. Man, it was cold. That water was freezing, icy-cold and probably could have given my hypothermia. Grr.

And now, to call some folks and ask to see their place. Such a drag.

Away To Georgia We Go!

2007-12-21T03:30:36Z

Yes, that's right, folks! I am off to Georgia tomorrow afternoon to my grandparent's house! I hope to see you crazy folks soon! I will be calling a majority of you folks on the phone on Christmas, so expect a call! Well, except for one lady whose phone number I need to get from another person... >.<

And so, I'm fairly excited, since I get to see my eldest sister's puppy again. I will make sure to get pixplz for all! Especially Lynore. <3 I'm not excited to see my family, though. Too much arguing and criticizing from them. Hence, why I hate my family. Waugh.

So, keep warm and stay cool, folks! I'll see you when I get back sometime after the New Year's. I'll try to get online from time to time. If not, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dear Santa...?

2007-12-12T01:11:59Z

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

This year I've been busy!

In July I saved a busload of nuns in Angola (326 points). Last Wednesday I pulled lynore's hair (-5 points). In April I bought porn for stevebennett (-10 points). Last month I turned lady_aliara in for tearing the tag off a mattress (3 points). In September I broke guardianhunter's X-Box (-12 points).

Overall, I've been nice (302 points). For Christmas I deserve an XBox 360!

Sincerely,
ellyvanhouten

Note:
*I bet Lynore loves getting her hair pulled. <3
*I really would buy pr0n for Steve. Yeeeeah!
*I really wouldn't turn in Micki for tearing off a tag from a mattress. Seriously, who keeps track of that!?
*How did I break Anna's XBOX, anyways? By playing Frisbee with it?

I wish I could have an XBOX 360, too. Alas, no. Waugh!

Happy Thanksgivings!

2007-11-22T05:51:04Z

Happy Thanksgivings Day to everyone! A majority of you should expect a phone call from me, since I'm going to do it somewhat formally and personalize it. A little thing I do around these crazy holidays. I don't think I have your number, Lynore. If you read this soon, give me your number, dammit, so I can call you in the afternoon. <3

Eat to your heart's content, but not too much that you get sick. Enjoy the festivities, the family (except for me, since I know my family is going to get in some random argument. That's Asian families for you, man.), the weather, and the fun. See you folks on the flip side, then. Skee-oot!

Defender Of [Anime] Justice!

2007-11-20T04:22:28Z

So, I found a site AnimeCrave.com and I contacted Greg Ayres about it. I looked at their Legal Disclaimer and they call themselves "a fan run, non-profit website dedicated to all anime series." I call that shady. I looked through their site and found nothing that said that they were affiliated with ADV, FUNimation, etc.. So, I just sent him a message to take a peek at them and verify whether or not they're legit or not, since I thought he was the best guy to ask, being very outspoken about these issues and such. I r awesome, yo.

In another random note, I hate uploaders. I know one asshat that uploads anime and apparently has a "group" on various websites, such as YouTube, Veoh, etc., to upload videos so others won't have to pay. Baka! I love how people are ignorant to copyright infringement laws. *Cues the "Law & Order dun dunn!" in the background* Really, if you love anime, buy it. RightStuf.com has great bargains, so you really can't complain. Support the voice actors, support the anime industry. Kill, I mean, uh, convince anime uploaders to stop douchebags and fansubbers to stop being asshats. If that doesn't work, then banhammer them right in the face.

In extremely random and other news, I called Rhiannon again today and actually got hold of her at the perfect time. She was just coming out of a meeting with a client! Of course, me hearing her voice for the first time, it blew me away. She is not a woman of 26. She sounded at least 19, if not younger. Then again, I suppose I am a sucker for older women. I mean, ahems, hey, what? But yes, I had a lovely chat with her. The best ten minutes of my life. We're probably going to talk again sometime this week. If not, I will call her on Thanksgiving, as I will to the rest of you n00bs and trolls. Heh.

Dreams

2007-11-19T06:12:58Z

Seriously, I don't like dreams one bit. They force me to [psycho]analyze them and try to figure out their meaning. [/Freud]

Let me explain the story:

In the last class on Thursday (which is Women, Culture, and Identity), my classmate, whom I talk to somewhat occasionally and is quite pretty herself, turns to tell me that I was in her dream the night before. Being me, I was like, "...Wow..." Her dream was about her and I hiking on/around the mountains at Blue Hills. I was there, apparently being her confidant or something. Very interesting, really. I spent the next fifteen minutes trying to figure out what it meant. No, you n00bs, she does not have the hots for me. Jeez. She's probably older than me by at least four years. Yeah... that was weird, though.

Two dreams I had today and one yesterday:

Yesterday, I dreamed that I was playing for the Red Sox. What was up with this!? That's why you never stay up really late and go to sleep. Your mind gets screwed up like that. I suppose I want to play with the Red Sox?

Today, my first dreamed involved my good friend, Rhiannon. I was supposed to call her yesterday around 5 or 6 PM, in which it is 2 or 3 PM in Arizona, but I was unable to, as I was stuck at Tokyo Kid, doing pre-registrations for Anime Boston. I did not get the chance to call her until 9:00 PM. Called twice more, then finally left her a voicemail around 10:30 PM. So, my dream involved her leaving me a voicemail on my phone. I also think that I had a conversation with her as well. I can't remember clearly. I don't know the meaning of this dream. What, I love her? Yeeeah. She is a very close friend, after all.

Second, I dreamed that I took my white Lexus and started driving down Saint Paul Street. It later turned into Amber's brown van and there was a group of us traveling to her house. That was extremely odd, too. The meaning of this dream is that I want to drive and go to Amber's house. Or see Amber. Something like that. Weird...

And thus, my dreams are confusing me. So, sleep early and get a good night's rest, folks. Else, your subconscious will entering your dreams.

Convention Report: Bakuretsu Con 2007

2007-11-18T05:39:16Z

As my avatar/icon "Kane" expresses, nothing more defines Bakuretsu Con 2007 with an evil chagrin and an angry fist.

Overall, I enjoyed Bakuretsu Con. At many different levels, I disliked it. There were disorganization, confusion, and extreme lack of effective communication. And thus, begins the breakdown:

Convention Layout: Yeeeeah. In total, the convention took place, in a hotel, on four floors: First, second, third, and fifth. First floor contained the Video Games Room and Video Room Two. Second Floor, the main convention floor: Video Room One, Main Events, [the only] Panel Room, Dealer's Room, Registration, and Artist's Alley. Third floor, main hotel lobby, random panels that took place when it was slightly delayed or there was no available space and a Dealer, who was there for one day since there was no available space in the Dealer's Room. Fifth floor, Manga Library.

That was it. Halls were tiny and squished together. It was fairly hard to move when kids were crowding up the hallways, especially the second floor. Terrible, terrible, terrible. The doors opened outward into the hallway, so if you were standing in front of a door and not paying attention, you were going to get hit hard.

Main Events and the panel room were right next to each other and they were never too much of a trouble. Except for the Masquerade, in which both rooms combined and created a disaster of disorganization.

Execution: My overall take was that it was extremely unprofessional and slow. I don’t hate on Valerie at all and she is a cool person, but she just prioritized things out of order. Some of the things she should have done before the convention, but alas, it was too late. Jen and I waited for about four to five hours before we actually got our Staff shirts.

Dealer’s Room: Nothing much to say here. I spent most of my weekend in here, with Ultimate Anime, Anime USA, and… one more, but I forgot their name. Stationed inside the Dealer’s Room was Michael “Mookie” Terracciano and Steve Bennett. I mostly spent my time at Steve’s table and Amber’s/James’ booth, as they were both next to each other. Awesome fun times

Staff: Dear me. What is there to say here? I wish not to be mean, but some of the Staff were just incompetent. The only Staff I saw who were more than capable at their positions were: me [/ego], Jen, Joey, Sarah, Kris, Micki, and Kristin. Everyone else just provided problems or had no idea what was going on. Really, that’s why you’re on Staff! To know what is going on and help plan or set it up! Bah. Plus, a couple more Security Staffers would have been nice. I thought I remember hearing on their forums that there would be six Security Staffers. In reality, there was one Security Manager (Jen), one Assistant Security Manager (Joey), and two Security Staffers (me and Jane). I know the three of us are veterans and all, but please don’t put us on Security and then have someone else complain about the job we’re doing later on. Oy oy oy!

Finally, Guests: What can I say? Awesome, magnificent, marvelous, and great people. I had tons upon tons of fun with Steve Bennett and Tiffany Grant. I may already have hung out with Steve and his table back at ConnectiCon, but this is no different. More jokes, laughter, and new folks crowded around the table and listened to the hilarious stories as told by Steve Bennett. Especially when Joey and I listened to the stories of Steve’s past Vietnamese friends. I don’t think I laughed so hard in my life. Steve is truly a one-of-a-kind man and it’s an honor of having the chance to meet and hang out with him.

As for Tiffany Grant, she was a very laid back woman. I loved her Hello Kitty panel (in which Hello Kitty is pretty awesome. It basically has a life of its own!) and her “No Fansubbing” panel were top-notch.

Both Steve and Tiffany performed magnificently in both the “Otaku’s Guide To Dating/Relationships” and “Anime Unscripted” panel/event. Provided lots of great advice as well as hilarious acting. It was truly a pleasure watching them.

Overview:

Thursday: Got there around 10:00 PM or so. Scared (or was it tricked?) Sarah into believing that we had a flat tire and were stuck in the middle of nowhere. We show up at the Green Room thirty seconds later, with Sarah wanting to kill me. <3 Heh, I couldn’t resist. We gave Tiffany a surprise Hello Kitty “grab-bag.” I got her some stuff, including a really, really cute Hello Kitty ice pack. We all hung out for a bit, then proceeded to head to bed.

Friday: Got breakfast downstairs and later helped Amber and James bring their stuff into Dealer’s Room and set up. Hung out with Steve and Tiffany and went to their panels. Provided Tiffany and Steve company at dinner on Friday night. Chatted with them. Hustled back so we all could get ready into time for our “Otaku’s Guide To Dating/Relationships” panel. That went fairly well, but more relaxed than usual. Hung out some more, then Amber, James, Steve, and I went back into Steve’s rooms to look at pr0n. I mean, uh… Amber’s nude modeling pictures. I tell you, and Steve can tell you too, Amber is a very beautiful woman. We spent a total of two hours talking and realized at 1:30 AM that James and Amber had to get back to their hotel for some rest. Steve and I were going to go up to the Green Room, but decided not to, since we felt that Sarah and Kris would be asleep. So, we hung out in the lobby with a group of other kids. Joey and Jen also met up with us, with their own Anime Boston 2003 stories, from Adam Ferraro. Then, we all decided to “break” into the Video Room 1 and watched Transformers. Great movie. At 6:00 AM, we went back upstairs for breakfast, then to sleep. Heh.

Saturday: Same old, same old, really. Hung out with Steve, Tiffany, Amber, and James. Talked, wandered a bit, and went to the Anime Unscripted event in the evening. No, wait. Something did happen. I was stuck in Main Events, “helping” out with the Masquerade. It went fairly well, though I think it was more of a disaster. We all went to the Green Room and lounged for quite a bit. Chatted about some voice actors (in which their identities are to be protected) and their Convention antics. Sleep time! It was about 2:00 AM or so, but Joey and I did not fall asleep until 4:00 AM. It’s not that we couldn’t get to sleep. We were too busy talking about the deep ways of philosophy. Like, everything you could think of. The meaning of life, “right and wrong,” what is real and what is not, perception, time travel, the ends of space and the universe, the beginning of the “world,” creation itself. Literally, everything. Not to mention the stories of my past and childhood, the honorifics of the Vietnamese language, hilarious transliterations, and such. One of the best conversations of my entire life, as these types of conversations I am able to have are with myself. Heh.

Sunday: Woke up a little late, but managed to get to Tiffany’s last panel. Helped her with her luggage, then became her escort as she wanted to say her final farewells. Took her outside and inside Sarah’s car she went! Came back to the Dealer’s Room and lounged for the next four hours, when it closed down. From there, I proceeded to help James and Amber disassemble their booth and pack it into their van. We sat in the lobby and watched the Giants and Redskins game and waited until the time we, a large group of us, would leave for dinner. Dinner was great as I sat at the table with Steve, Amber, James, and Joey. Very, very cool. Came back and it was hot tub party time! We were kicked out at midnight, got dressed, and then Amber, me, Adam, and another Anime Boston (?) fellow named Lupa chatted for a long while in the lobby. It was about 3:00 AM when it was time for everyone to scram. Steve had fallen asleep on an armchair and Amber woke him up. Amber and James left for home after. Went to sleep around 4:00 AM or something.

Monday: Sadly, it is time to go! Woke up just barely around 9:00 AM to have breakfast with Steve, Sarah, Kris, Li, Jen, Joey, and some other folks. Helped Steve get his stuff into Sarah’s car and off they went to airport. Jen, Joey, Jane, and I then packed our stuff (or rather, they did and I played around with the Holy Bible, searching it and reading lines from it, which are featured in the Xenosaga series.) and went home. We dropped Joey off at Logan Airport around 3:30 PM and I got home a little past 4:00 PM. Whew! Quite the trip, really.

My Overall Experience: I spent the entire con doing absolutely nothing. Heh heh, oops. I do suppose that explains why I was so restless the entire convention, as well as being unable to sleep and feeling the backlash even until now. Maybe it was because I took in too much caffeine. Well, fine. I did something. Security with a mix of Guest Relations, really. Nevertheless, I should be back to my regular self after this weekend. But, the good outweighs the miseries and I enjoyed myself. Though, with so many problems, who knows if we will be back next year? Maybe we might, depending on who the Guests are, because we definitely do not want our favorite Guests to be miserable for an entire weekend.

A big special thanks to Jen (for the ride), Joey, Steve, Tiffany, Sarah, Kris, Amber, James, Micki, Jane, and everyone else who helped make that weekend a fun experience!

Next up… Ohayocon 2008! Woohoo! Though, still awaiting whether or not Jen and I will be Guest Relations Staff or continue being Security Staff.

Edit: I have pictures on my Photobucket! If you want them, please let me know and I'll link them to you!

And Thus Spoke Zarathustra: "We's Goin' To Vermont, Yo!"

2007-11-07T22:06:25Z

That's right! I'm going to be heading up to Colchester, Vermont, as soon as I get home from school tomorrow afternoon/evening. Jen will pick Joey up from the airport, drive to UMass Boston, pick me up, drive me home, drop me off so I can get my stuff, and off we go! Why are we going? Because we're staffing Bakuretsu Con (Security with a hint of Guest Relations, I'm assuming, yo), that's why! It's going to be great seeing Sarah [Hodge-Wetherbe] and Steve [Bennett] after... what, four months? Yow! Talk about a long time.

Well, time to pack, folks!

Aww... Yeah!

2007-10-28T18:40:38Z

So, here's some new random updates in the boring, boring life.

Let's see... early Thursday morning, my mom and little sister took off for a flight to Lawrenceville, Georgia. Next week, or rather some time this week, they will be going on a cruise to the Bahamas with one of my mom's sister's family. My little sister Phuong (Or Julie, as she's legally known now) said that she'd taken a lot of pictures. She better, dammit. Thus, I have been home alone, with an occasional visit from my older brother. I never realized it could be so... boring. I can do whatever I want, but that's not really helpful to a big slacker like me. Heh, oops.

In other news, I learned recently that a friend was going to break up from her husband after a year or so of marriage. Funny thing is, I liked this friend, before and after the wedding. Also, when I heard the news, I was... slightly happy, for lack of a better descriptive word. Yeah, I know, I'm a terribly immoral person, whatever morals are. Of course, I could never approach her and tell her how I feel, since I respect her as a friend and that would just be an asshat move on my part. Moral of the story? Don't like your friends. Hate them. Oh yeah.

What else...? Oh! I poked with my PS2 again. It's funny to watch me figure out what game to play, because a majority of them are RPGs and I tend to like full straight-on plot twists and story action. Since I finished most of the games (Or just sitting the last dungeon/stage/area, leveling up), it can feel a little tedious and get boring. But, I finished .hack//Outbreak (I thought I finished it earlier, though. Hm.) and decided to play Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse. I finished the first disc this morning in about nine hours. I cried the entire way, though. Why? Because I was showing remorse over the lost fifty dollars I spent on the piece of trash. Horrific voice acting, terrible plot, and extremely sad art direction. Sigh, oh sigh. That's why you don't boot people out, especially Director, the one who envision this entire universe and his Scenario Writing wife. N00bs. NOOBS!

I started reading Yotsuba&! and I don't think I have laughed this hard. I thought nothing could get funnier than Azumanga Daioh, but I was quite wrong. Kiyohiko Azuma is a. Master. Genius. Story. Teller. Yotsuba, the six-year-old main character, has an inquisitive, curious, ADD-type nature about her. It's so... beautiful! She has more adventures than a Kingdom of Loathing player. If this does get adapted into an anime, I do hope Jessica Boone (Chiyo-chan from Azumanga Daioh) will play Yotsuba.

And so, another chapter ends. Hell, I should write a fictional autobiography with these posts. Jeez.

Whoa.

2007-10-21T06:04:50Z

So, yeah... Let me explain that poll. First off, we'll go with the stats. Three people voted, four including me (but I cheated), in which two voted for "Yes" and one (Including mine makes two) voted for "Are you crazy!?"

The other day, my Kingdom of Loathing (a text-based MMORPG) friend, Mme_Defarge, was talking about how she used to have French maid outfits. She said she gave them away, in which I kiddingly responded that she should have kept them *coughformetowearcough*. So, from there, she basically went out on a limb and told me that she would be willing to make me a French maid outfit, provided that I give her my measurements. ...Yeeeeah. It was a highly interesting conversation. Of course, there's always a costume contest I could join and win... [Ahem.]

Wild, no? Assuming that people were drunk out of the minds when they voted "Yes," shall we try again? If a majority ends up being "Yes" again, I'm going to kill you folks. <3 As much as me wearing a French maid outfit would bring laughter in the lives of many, I'm assuming having scandalous pictures and blackmailing photos of myself over the Internet wouldn't be so much fun. That is, if you folks are kind enough to not blackmail an innocent bastard. Though, I'd have to be high, drunk out of my mind, and on seven levels of [gloom] nuts to wear something like that. :oP

In other news, Red Sox are alive... still. Tomorrow (Or rather, today) will be the final showdown. If they win, I expect nothing less than riots breaking out left and right. Hopefully, nothing on the caliber of them winning the World Series, where you get to go down to Fenway Park and randomly see two of your classmates chucking rocks at police officers (Awesome, yes). I also learned that I enjoy football more than baseball. For football, there is constant action going on. In baseball, I get constant heart attacks as I anxiously watch each pitch fly by. Moral of the story? Baseball takes years off my life, yo.

Also today, I "helped" out with the Anime Boston pre-registrations at Tokyo Kid. The quotation marks denote that I did absolutely nothing, except walk (and get lost) with my little sister around Harvard Square, trying to find that damned Kinkos. So yeah, I essentially did nothing, besides sitting in a chair and smiling like an asshat.

And finally, my super special awesome manga news. Volumes 2-4 of Yotsuba&! (from the creator of Azumanga Daioh) came today and Volume 1 was apparently shipped today as well. Looks like I'll have some fun stuff to read soon.

Wait, I lied. One more thing. It turns that I haven't touched my PS2 in over six months. So, I started playing with it, and learned how frustrated I was with it. Disc Two of Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra had the tiniest scratch and the PS2 was having trouble reading it. It reads all the other games fine, but has trouble with this!? "Disc read error," my ass, n00b. I suppose it's time to steal someone's PS3 or XBOX 360. :oP

Oh Man, Oh Man, Oh Man...

2007-10-18T02:48:11Z

This is quite simple in its own right. Your choices will determine what's going to happen to me. I'll explain at a later time after votes come in. >.<

View Poll: Yes or No

Update, Rant, And A Moment Of Squee

2007-10-17T04:33:32Z

Well, here's an update on the status of my parents: My dad left the house on Saturday and hasn't come home since then, so I suppose he's really gone. Nothing much happened between that family "meeting" and last Saturday. Well, besides the fact that my parents crashed into my room at 8 A.M. on a Sunday morning, arguing and waking me up. Apparently, my mom was holding my dad's green card and Social Security card hostage and asked for some of the $100,000 back.*

*Note: I was barely awake at the time, so my memory is slightly fuzzy on the incident.

They argued a little more, my mom stone-faced and my dad crying left and right. So, they left my room to talk (Heh.) and my mom hid his cards under my bed (Well, more like mattress). My mom called me from the living room to come out as well, but I was too tired and fell back asleep. I sort of woke up later to feel her going my mattress to get the cards back. Well, I guess this situation's over and done with. My mom's still trying to get over it, though.

As for rant, my rant is on the stupid n00bs who clog up my fun game playing time with lags. That's what happens when there are too many players/accounts logging in at once or spanned out. Highly and extremely annoying.

And as for my moment of squee, my Azumanga Daioh mangas, a majority of my Negima! Magister Negi Magi mangas, and my Azumanga Daioh Thinpak has arrived at my house! I am so very happy! Unfortunately, I haven't opened the Thinpak yet, seeing how I don't want to damage the DVDs in any way. One of my favorite school comedy animes. Seriously, who wouldn't want Chiyo-chan as their genius daughter?

Other than that, everything else has been running fairly smoothly. Helped Jamie and Joey moved their stuff on Saturday. I'll see Joey in four weeks, since we'll be heading up to Vermont to staff Bakuretsu Con. Woohoo! I can't wait. This Saturday, I'll be helping Anime Boston with their pre-registrations at the Tokyo Kid in Harvard Square.

I'm stuck on a situation. There's a meet/get-together in Columbus, Ohio during November 2nd-4th. A friend who lives in the region was extremely willing to drive all the way out to Boston, pick me up, drive back, and then drive me back home. If that happened, I'd feel extremely guilty. Also, there's an Anime Boston meeting on November 3rd. I'd not like to miss that, since some folks owe me stuff and I owe some other folks stuff. ...Yeeeeah. Don't know what to do. Also. I! HATE! SAUERKRAUT! Oops, I mean, I hate my Math professor and Math altogether. If I had know this would happen (Ironic how Math was my strongest subject throughout childhood and some of high school), I would have rather paid my Junior/Senior Math teacher to teach me. Grr.

Okay, I'm done with the essays. I should be writing books or something. Ugh.

Four Weeks Overdue

2007-10-05T03:32:31Z

As this post begins, I am sitting in my room, listening to my dad, in tears as it sounds like, talking to my grandfather (Mom's dad), with an occasional intervention by my mom. I will eventually get to this story.

Let's start off where I have been in the last four weeks. School has taken its toll on me. It's been more or less interesting, with classes left and right. Tired and stressful, but more or less enjoying some of the classes. Favorite class: Women, Culture, and Identity. Very good and interesting class, with an excellent professor, as we are all engaging and talk about current events. Hated class: Either Calculus I or Intro to Philosophy. as both professors have a tendency to drone on and on for ages.

First, the sad news: I lost my cute and adorable Chachamaru pin on the morning of September 6th, 2007! *Sighs* I am quite disappointed at my own foolishness and my own ability to overlook things. Taking things for granted, as I have a tendency to do. Well, I suppose I deserved it, seeing how I was late for class and knew that the pin was slightly unstable on the strap of my bag. Gah! However, I'm getting another one. "To replace her" sounds crude, so I shall say... er... "twin sister"?

Anime-news related news: The Delta idea we had going for Anime Boston has fallen, failed, and burned. However, that's just the outside. We are slowly rising out of the ashes. I didn't get on the Guest Selection Committee, either. Not a single word back or a genuine reply. Sad, I say. On the bright side, I am now a Got Anime? Member with The Right Stuf International. Now I can buy more anime with discounts and support all my favorite voice actors and actresses! Woohoo!

Bank-related news: I hate Wank of America. They're stealing my money. First, I'm charged a $29.00 Annual Fee on my Platinum Plus Visa card, in which the website says that there's no Annual Fee. I contacted their Customer Service via email and they told me to look over my Credit Card Agreement. Such nice, helpful advice. Second, either this is TRSI's (The Right Stuf International's) fault or the Bank's fault, but they pulled $36.82 out of my account when I was paying for that $12.00 Got Anime? Membership. Zomg! Thieves! The correct $12.00 has been pulled, but they $36.82 still sits there, with the both of them on a Pending processing. I need a fax machine to get TRSI to fix it for me. Guh.

Game-related news: I have been playing some Final Fantasy Tactics Advance on a Gameboy Advance emulator. Just merely curious, I suppose. Computer/laptop-wise: I finished Command & Conquer, which was one of the most greatest old school games I have ever played. Never got to finish it in over ten years, but thanks to a free download from the Electronic Arts team (because they bought out Westwood Studios, those bastards), I play, revel, and immerse myself with this awesome game. Now to Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, to which actors like James Earl Jones and Michael Biehn are magnificent in. None other than Joseph Kucan, who plays Kane, one of the most sadistic and power-loving bastards I have ever seen. Best. Character. Ever. I played Halo 3 with one of my good friend Joey (who's going to be moving soon, bah!) and we finished it in what, eight hours? Ending could have been better, but I was suffering from a lack of Gears of War and I suppose this was a good shooter compared to the next. I'd like to hang out with him again soon, before he leaves next weekend.

Now, the terrible news: My parents are getting divorced. That's right, you read it correctly. Divorced. My first initial reaction was frustration, to which it was directed at my own annoyance. I had an inclination that this would happen sooner or later, but never really expected to happen. So, on Tuesday, October 4th, 2007, my dad pulls the card on my mom, saying that he "does not love her anymore." My Mom has been going through a rough time, but she's getting support from her parents and the two sisters who live in Boston area. Myself, I don't know what to think. I knew that this was coming, as he has been apparently chatting with some woman for quite sometime, who we all speculate to be living in Vietnam.

It all sort of started when he came home from Vietnam at the beginning of September. He was more distant with my mom. According to my mom, the first thing he did was basically tried to collect as much money as he could. Through the dispute so far, he has in his possession (though I have yet to confirm this personally): $100,000 in cash and $150,000 worth of land in Vietnam. I honestly never knew that my parents had that much money.

My mother's major concerns lies within that $100,000. She wants to try to get back as much as possible, since she doesn't want this other random woman to receive this "benefit." I had installed a chat logger (Though, a crappy trial version, which was unable to capture full conversations) a few days ago (In which I should have done this a long time ago, thanks to my own ignorance), and saw that he has been chatting, though somewhat "romantically," with another woman and talk about how they miss each other, how he's so lonely and stressed, and a ton of other bull.

I just got home an hour and fifteen minutes ago from my Aunt Stephanie's place, where she was basically "teaching" my older brother, young sister, and I how to "gain" sympathy from our father, in a meeting we're all having tomorrow evening, so that he will give back some of the money he has taken.

So yes, back to the phone conversation at the very top. I will try best to describe his words, through some terrible Vietnamese translation. He basically says [to my grandfather] that he wants out, that he's not happy, how he gave money, rice, etc. to the people in Vietnam when he went, that he could care less if he went to Vietnam and died, if he was going to leave, he would have left a long time ago, that he no longer loves my mom and could doesn't care if she gets married to another man, etc.

My brother feels that if he wants to go, then he will. My brother also feels that my dad is making a mistake and will have no place to go, once he realizes that he isn't happy with this woman or whatever. My little sister wants my dad out of the house as soon as possible. Personally, I'd love to hit him. Right in the face. A father who has been never supportive, warm, caring, etc. in my entire lifetime is not of worth or worthy of my time and effort. I know that some of my behaviors are like him, to which I am extremely and highly ashamed of, and would rather die than end up being like him.

I apologize for my long and endless story. Thoughts on this worldly hell of mine? Another reason why I am such a twisted and evil person. Oy! Time to study for a stupid Calculus exam tomorrow and to find time on Monday afternoon to visit my good ol' alma mater.

Edit: Okay, I guess I lied and got my information wrong. According to my mom, they both had $400,000 together. She was afraid that he would take the money, miscounted and took $300,000, thinking that he already took the $100,000. And according to my dad, who was telling my grandfather, that he saw the missing $300,000, was furious, and threw the remaining $100,000, in two wads, off the Boston University bridge, and into the Charles River, on both sides. When you're dealing with this much money and no matter how angry you are, you aren't going to throw an amount like this, especially when you come from a middle-lower class, like my family. Really, who would throw this much money away like that, an amount that took you years and years to make? My mom believes him, since he was crying and talking to my grandfather, but I call it lies. If he can lie about another woman, he can certainly lie about throwing away this money.