i'm still alive

Just barely. Here's a meme, because I'm procrastinating about checking up on pregnancy screening tests ==;;

STORY OF MY LIFE
Hi, my name is: ...........This question would have been so much more straightforward if someone hadn't been repeating "Hallo, my name is Jack" all yesterday.
When I’m nervous: Dry mouth, start shaking XD
By this time next year: Hopefully in second year and not first year
Last night I: slept

PART 1: YOU
Were you a planned baby?: Never asked about that.
Were you the first?: And only

PART 2: YOUR PERSONALITY
Do you have low self esteem?: I acknowledge my strengths and weaknesses?
Do you get depressed about things easily?: No point
Are you happy right now?: I am at peace (or maybe just in a zombie-like sleep-deprived state)

PART 3: APPEARANCE
Are you comfortable with the way you look?: Not something I'm inclined to spend time mulling over.
Describe your hair: Black

PART 4: RANDOM
Ever been kicked out of a bar?: Don't think I've ever been inside a bar with the intention of being inside one =/
Ever been arrested?: Nope

PART 5: THE OUTDOORS
Do you prefer indoors or outdoors?: I like both, depending on time of day and mood of the moment. And the number of insects in the vicinity of both.
Do you like walking in the rain?: I like the idea of it, but not the cleaning up afterwards.
Do you like thunderstorms?: Yes, but the practical wimpy part of me is scared of electrocution.

PART 6: FOOD
Are you a vegetarian?: God or evolution gave humans canine teeth and umami taste buds for a good reason
Anything you absolutely could eat forever?: Errrr....by "forever" does that mean everyday? Or continuously? Or every meal? Or every now and then? For ever? I can eat any food forever, as long as it's at reasonable intervals. Of course, the reasonable interval for a food I don't like would logically be quite long, rather close to forever, I think.
What is your favorite dessert?: Anything mildly sweet. No really, mildly here is a very important modifier. Non-fatty. Fruity. Something that won't sit on a the stomach like a brick...e.g. a brick-sized piece of mud-cake. Currently rather fond of mango pancakes ^///^

PART 7: RELATIONSHIPS AND LOVE
Do you want to get married?: Maybe eventually
Have you ever been in love?: Platonically.................?

PART 8: RANDOM QUESTIONS
Where is your cell phone?: In my bag
Cheesecake?: Eww
Your dream last night: I was watching TV in my dream and getting yelled at by mum for watching it...how odd =0=
Your favorite drink?: A lot ahaha! Green tea cappuccino! Or green tea ice. Or mung bean ice. Or red bean ice.
Car you want?: One that can move without needing people to push on the boot....
Your fears?: Cockroaches and other insects. Public speaking.
Who are you hanging out with tonight?: My bed.....I miss it so much........
One of your wish list items?: HARP SEAL PLUSHIE SQUEE LOL......It's all Kai's fault for making me want plushies again XD
Where did you grow up?: My formative years were mostly spent in Sydney XD
What are you wearing?: T-shirt, sports pants, and because my dad stole the jacket.....a small blanket around my shoulders. It's cold!
Tattoos?: I can give you at least 3 diseases you can get from tattooing...? =P
Ketchup?: IT'S TOMATO SAUCE YOU STOOPID AMERICANS. AND DON'T GIVE ME THAT "HUH? WHAT'S TOMATO SAUCE LOOK", YES YOU, STUPID NEW YORK HOT-DOG SELLING PERSON!!! KETCHUP IS SAUCE MADE FROM TOMATOES, HENCE TOMATO SAUCE.
Your computer?: Works
Your life?: Continues
Your friends?: Are lovely
What are you thinking about right now?: I should get started on my PBL homework ==;
Your work?: Guilty feeling because I took 2 weeks off...
Your summer?: Didn't get enough sleep.....
Your favorite color(s)?: Practically all colours
When is the last time you laughed?: Yesterday, while reading a manga.......
Last text?: Jack, who's making it a habit to message at unearthly hours like 2am and 3am in the morning, reminding us that daylight saving ended =__=
Last received call?: ...Mum telling me to do work. LOL.

****

Who knows the most about you? Me, myself and I XD
Who do you blame for your mood today? Not getting enough sleep over the last 5 days.....
Have you ever seen a dead body? Many times.....LOL!
What should we do with stupid people? Control them...manipulate them...make them do all the dirty work ;)
What is making you sad right now? Lack of sleep
What was the first thing you did this morning? Sit up, and emit a loud "ugh"
Last person you went out to dinner with? Serena, satisfying my craving for Viet noodles XD
Are you spoiled? Sometimes
Do you drink lots of water? Not as much as I should
What toothpaste do you use? Whichever is there
How do you vent your anger? Write about it, possibly with the incorporation of inapproriate language XD
The last compliment you received?: Can't recall XD
What did you do last weekend? Transcribing, translating, getting 3 hours of sleep, buying wedding present, transcribing, translating, getting 3 hours of sleep, going to wedding party, playing clarinet badly, getting filled up on entree, AGAIN. I swear, people should tell us how long entree goes for *cough*Kobe Jones*cough*5 courses of entree*cough*
When was the last time you threw up? When I was 9 and suffered from a really bad case of indigestion.....
Are you a mama’s child or a daddy’s child? I'm an only child....BWAHAHA!
Would you ever join the military? Not if I have to be deployed ~~;;
The last website you visited? LJ
Who was the last person you took a picture with? Damn, everyone at the wedding had to be in the picture....
Last person you went to the movies with? Carmen and Justin, to watch Sweeney Todd
What did/will you do for your birthday this year? I had clinical school from 9 to 4, then went to a shared birthday dinner with Jason and Janita and Jack and Jacquie (...why am I surrounded by people whose names start with J???) before going to band practice that ended, I think, with an explosion >_>;
Number of layers on your bed? Do we include the mattress and bed coverings and stuff? >_>;
Is anything alive in your room? Like, apart from myself and spiders?
Today, would you rather go back a week or go forward a week? Back, so I can actually listen to the lectures again (and most likely fall asleep in them again)
What are you looking forward to right now? End of the year, when I finally get a holiday that goes longer than a few days ~~;;;

IF YOU HAD TO:
If you HAD to get a tattoo, where would you want it? 5 reasons not to get a tattoo......but if I HAD to, then somewhere meaty and away from bones and nerves...like upper arm or thigh. I don't want osteomyelitis =P
If you HAD to dye your hair a color what color would it be? 2 reasons not to get hair dyed........Can I just dye it black? ==;
If you HAD to get a piercing (THAT ISN’T YOUR EARS): 5 reasons not to get a piercing.........
If you HAD to change your name, what new name would you choose? Kairan...might as well go all the way XD

The “WOULD YOU?” section:
If you could go bungee jumping, would you?: Not if I merely could, only if I must
Would you move somewhere else, if you could? Depends how nice that place is
If you were given the chance to go to Paris, would you go? Of course!
If you found 10 million dollars, and it was YOURS to spend, what would you buy? Donate it somewhere, since it wasn't mine to begin with

The “LETS SAY” Questions:
Let’s say you see a big ship sink...only 3 people have a chance to survive. The 3 people are Your Best Friend, Your Boyfriend/Girlfriend, and a long lost friend, You can only save one, who would it be? Well since I don't have a Best Friend™ or a Boyfriend™.........wait. I can't swim......Oh well, can't save any of them.
Lets say you had to eat a live tarantula for $1,000…would you? Pfft...$1000 is so not worth eating a tarantula
Let’s say you could star in any movie (made or in the works) what movie? One where it doesn't involve me actually, you know, doing or saying anything. Maybe I can be a treant XD

The “OTHER STUFF” section:
What makes your bedroom unique?: Umm. I have to prop up my bedroom window with a mooncake box?
What’s your favorite season of the year? Autumn, when weather turns to cool and those damn flies start disappearing
Do you like cheese?: NO

the 2008 section:
Have you had your birthday yet? Yes
Are you the same person as you were at the beginning of 2007? Different, I think.
Are you still in the same job? Yes
Is your favorite color the same color? Didn't really have one
Have you got the same style/colour hair? Er....kinda
Have you bought a NEW car this year? No
What kind of car? NA
Have you been involved with the police this year? Nope
Is your best friend still your best friend? My friends are still my friends?
Gotten any tattoos/piercings? 10 reasons not to....
Had a haircut this year? ....Can't recall
Been in a hospital this year? Practically every week XD
Lost someone you cared about? No
Been on a vacation this year? No
Been kicked out of a public place this year? Not personally
Best thing that happened this year? Had probably the best birthday I've had in a long time...certainly the first time in a long time to celebrate it on the day with friends. And got heaps of well-wishes from good friends on the day.....even if my bro forgot about it *cough cough* (He still hasn't said anything...I should take a pitchfork to him some time)

april anime

It's so nice to be, once in a while, able to put up one's feet and watch anime XD Surprisingly, all three anime I managed to catch have gotten off to a strong start. I'm actually most surprised by Vampire Knight, which has exceeded (admittedly, low) expectations.

Nabari no Ou
I've always wanted to read this manga after seeing posters of it around, but I've never been able to find it. Basically it's about the ninja world clamouring over a boy who has the ultimate hidden technique sealed inside him, a power he hasn't learned to use yet but will obviously ultimately propel him to become the King of the Hidden (Nabari no Ou).

It's really hard to decide what genre this anime falls into. It has the palette of shoujo anime, but the action sequences are fluid and dynamic like shounen. There's a lot of anime about the main character having a hidden power just waiting to be awakened, and the main character often turns out to be a bit of a bumhead when that comes about. It's hard to pin down on Miharu, who walks through the show with a bored, imperturbable air mixed with sarcastic cheer.

Normally I'm quite fond of Kugimiya Rie, especially since Gintama, but she does Miharu with all the conviction of whoever did Souma Yuki from Fruits Basket, which is.........really girly!!!

This anime has potential, but it's treading a really precarious path of being trite.

xxxHolic Kei
It's been so long since the first season that I don't know if it picked up where it stopped, but the storyline so far is familiar, in that it's appeared in the manga somewhere.

It has started at a good place, a length of plot that retains the humour of the first season - particularly with the way Watanuki screeches at everyone - but also a bit more meatier on the emotional side, stepping into the spiralling tragedy where CLAMP is most comfortable. Of course, the manga by this time has gotten a lot more depressing as well, with Watanuki's eye problems, then Himawari's secret, and now Kohane-chan's dilemma. Again, there has been no crossover from Tsubasa, and it's hard to say whether it will remain the case for the rest of the season. It will certainly be a pity, because the two manga plots are becoming very intertwined, particularly as the finale is approaching.

And Yuuko-san is still as cool as ever ♥

Vampire Knight
I was a bit iffy about this because the manga depended a lot more on its beautiful art rather than riveting story to sell, and there's a tendency in these gothic ventures to overdo on the wangst.

Surprisingly, from the looks of the first episode, they've hired a great scriptwriter for the show. It's tighter structured than the original manga, introducing a lot of the later elements earlier on and probably providing a better sense of continuity than the original did. It does also add in a bit more dialogue than the original, but this is done unintrusively and doesn't detract from the original feel or flow of the manga. The characters continue to develop in the same way, the humour is still there, and the angst is still subtly brewing under the surface.

Obviously the art can never match up to the original, because Hoshino's style is very distinctly manga and doesn't translate at all well across the medium, but it does well enough on its own, and the chibis are really cute ^^ The colours are interesting as there seems to be two distinct palettes, the bright vibrant shoujo colours, and the dark bluish hues of its gothic undertones, and it switches between one and the other, sometimes to quite jarring effect. As for the voice acting...I can't complain about Miyano Mamoru as Zero, of course!