I have a kitty!

( His name is Theo :-) )

Thanks to sarshin for her lovely photo-taking skills!

If you're a musical person, see this movie. Even if you're not, give it a chance. This movie left me shocked and speechless and the end - and I already knew what was going to happen.

Funny, witty, ghoulish and horrifying all at once, I have to say, this is one of the better movie musical adaptations I have had the pleasure of viewing in recent years. Yes, it took me until at least "My Friends" to get used to the singing (no, they don't hold back - the first lines are sung through, entirely), and you must listen to the lyrics to get a full understanding of the story. But once you get into the flow, it's very well-done.

At least try it out. If you're not a musical person, but you're still curious, try a matinee or view some clips online first.

The performances are to die for, too. So watch.

(My personal faves were Johnny Depp's Sweeney Todd, Helena Bonham Carter's Mrs. Lovett and Ed Sanders's Tobias. Mmmm.)

I applaud you, Tim Burton, for a job well done! :D

And on lovely thoughts of throat-slitting to pretty music, bed for me.

Today was the first day of class.

More significantly, today was the first Alpha Phi Omega meeting of the semester. For those on my friends list who don't know, at CMU, I am a member of a co-ed service fraternity. Well, the first announcement of the meeting was that one of our brothers, Justin, had been killed about a week ago in some sort of accident. There will be a memorial service on campus (one hosted by APhiO, another probably by the campus).

I'm sad to say that I was not close to Justin. He was just initiated at the end of the Spring 2007 semester, but I always enjoyed his enthusiasm and energy for the organization. It reminded me of my own excitement for APhiO Kappa Chapter and its events. Losing him so soon is quite a blow, since I've never experienced losing someone I knew as a peer before. Honestly, I hope I don't experience it again.

For all those who were friends or brothers, keep Justin in your thoughts as we organize a memorial. He didn't deserve this sort of tragedy, but I hope he's happy wherever he is now.

Rest in Peace and Goodbye, Justin Chua. We'll miss you. <3

Pokemon Friend Code:

4596 6334 0022

If you have it, gimme your code so we can ... uh. Do stuff.

And yet here are the first real sketches I've produced in two years:

( Click here to see Apollo Thessen! )

These are actually both the same exact character, but since he is actually supposed to be quite sickly and perpetually tired-looking, I believe the second (creepier) image reflects what I wanted to a much greater degree. He also looks kind of like he stepped out of the eighties. Whoops! :D

Either way, it seems I've gotten back into the swing of sketching a lot more quickly than I thought I would. Hopefully I'll keep this up throughout the summer.

And so, on May 15th, 2007, my summer vacation began.

Within the past half a month, I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, obsessively played and completed both American-released Phoenix Wright Nintendo DS games, became reinvolved in the world of play-by-post RPing, sketched for the first time in many months, picked the first round of fresh fruit for the summer season, and chillaxed more than I have throughout both semesters of school. There were other things, too, like hanging out with Township Kids and considering innovative and LOUD PR techniques for the fall. The thought of possibly working and the impending decision of applying to a five-year masters program have become all-consuming, and I honestly have no idea where to go from here.

But really, my main reason for writing a post is the little user icon in the top corner of this post. Oh, Miles Edgeworth, how I heart thee.

Until next time, when I might have something profound to say. :D

So Lindsay and I were kicked out of our London Terrace apartment for next year, with the disclaimer that it's been made "first-year only" and that we can choose another community apartment to live in. As Space Permits.

Fuck you, Housing, I want a goddamn guarantee. We signed a contract and we were already billed, for crying out loud.

Edit: Housing responded in record time and Lindsay and I have been moved to Webster 513. It's still a one-bedroom, and it still has central air to help out my allergies. I am content. :-)

Comment here and I'll pick three interests of yours and three icons that I am curious about/want you to explain. Except that I might not, because I'm lazy. ...No, nevermind, it's the end of the year and I want to procrastinate, so I totally will. :D

( omg mine from lady_iphigeneia )

So since I've already seen Crash, I'm only half-paying attention to this movie during my Social Psychology class. Hence why I'm wasting my time on my laptop instead of shifting some rapt gazing power up to the double screens in the Giant Eagle Auditorium.

Anyway, just announcing that since Hels is probably going to be moving elsewhere in Pittsburgh, I had been in the market for a new roommate next academic year. Luckily, I've found one! We're both looking for the close-to-campus (i.e., campus-owned) apartments, so we're hoping to live in either Maggie Mo Apartments or Doherty Apartments, if possible. Though I'm not too worried, since there were lots of Doherty apartments available for the freshmen last room draw. Honestly, I just want my own kitchen so I can cook healthier foods for myself when I have time. It will be beyond lovely, methinks. I'm in a happy state. ^_^

As an added note, we're both "not the neatest people," so we'll get along great overall! :D

...

In conclusion...

*tap dances*

Still gotta decide what to get Rob for Valentine's Day. Option 1 or Option 2? Hrrmmmhhhmmm.

As the subject line says.

I haven't updated in awhile, and actually, it feels like it's been forever since I've had a chance to sit down and IM-chat with rnadom people. But, it's probably only really been a week and a half or so (maybe shorter), so I'm just exaggerating in proportion to the hecticness of my life. :-O

So the semester's in full swing, and has been in full swing since day two, when my dreaded DADSS class assigned the first homework (which took a ridiculous amount of time, considering, mind you). I've been stressed out to the max, scrambling around to grade papers, attend my activities, run events and fit in time to do my homework--sometime during the week, maybe. XD Bah, despite all that, I'm actually getting a really good start on the semester and I'm not really worried about grades yet.

Well, except for the DADSS exam coming up in the first week of March, but don't remind me.

Other than that, I think I'm finally getting a handle on managing my time around classes. Tuesdays are ridiculously murderous, and I usually don't get back until past 8 or 9PM, Wednesdays are only bad when I have a DADSS homework due on Thursday, Thursdays are long, but I usually don't have anything I HAVE to do Thursday evening, so I just relax. :-) Mondays are okay, Fridays are good. Saturday's usually good unless there's an event going on, and Sunday I have a bunch of meetings, but evenings are almost always free.

So basically, my point in saying all of that is that I need to force 'ME' time more often. I don't write enough, and I feel like I need to fit some creativity into my days/weeks in order to retain my sanity. XD I also got a spiffy new laptop, and I named it Aidan (for those who don't know what happened to my old laptop... eh, no big deal). It is beauteous.

Also, I finished Twilight Princess weeks ago and the Zelda series is so amazing liek omg. :O

... That's about it, really. Life is exhausting, but I'm starting to figure out how to manage everything well enough to have 'relax' time. Thank GOD.

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/6608/red03bd4.jpg

Forgive the crappiness of my camera phone.

In other news, Pittsburgh Port Authority Transit may be eliminating the 28X airport flier from the bus routes. This sucks greatly. Argh.

I went to my general physician today, expecting no more than a useless routine check-up. Actually, surprise! They had my second ultrasound report there and ready to go.

It turns out Western Penn Hospital sucks at life and I have a cyst the size of a golf ball attached to my right ovary. Joy!

So I'll find out on Saturday what the doctor intends to do about it. Apparently, the usual courses of action are "watchful waiting" or "surgery." Personally, I'm sick of waiting and I'd rather have the damn thing cut out so I can finally get a break from this crap. But we'll see...

Thank god it's something.

Tune in next time for more updates.

... WELL ENOUGH OF THAT. In other news, HAPPY HOLIDAYS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone out there. Have a lovely 2007!

So yesterday, I was scheduled for a flight home to Philadelphia at exactly 2:40PM.

I arrived at the airport early--around one--checked my bag, ate lunch at Qdoba, and sat at the gate. The flight was delayed for an hour. No big deal, right? They said we were due for takeoff at 3:45 PM. They boarded us at around 3:25... So far, so good. The plane pushed off from the gate, we went out onto the runway, and--

Turned around to park back at the gate.

W-T-F.

Yesterday sucked major ass. They kept delaying the flight for another hour, and another hour, and another hour until 'another hour' turned into eight or nine full hours. FINALLY, they cancelled the flight at 10:00PM, and I go OY, call my mom, get her to switch my flight to 9:25am this morning. I return to the baggage claim area to get my bag and go back to the dorm.

Except my bag wasn't there.

In fact, they decided to 'split up the luggage' and send a bunch ahead to Philly on the last flight that broke through. So not only was I not going home, but I didn't have any luggage or really anything useful to tide me over for the day. Not to mention that I left my medicine on my checked bag, which was the worst idea in the world. :-D

Needless to say, I was extremely upset and had a few anxiety attacks somewhere in there, which was fun. It was so annoying that they cancelled the flight so goddamn late, to the point where we were literally watching all the other flights drop off the list as being 'Cancelled.' By the way, the reason for all this hubbub and shit was because Philly was apparently doused in fog so thick that visibility was... pretty much zero. Yeah. Just my luck.

I hate airplanes.

Anyway, I ended up getting BACK to Morewood at midnight, ate some light food because I hadn't eaten since 1:30 PM, and went straight to sleep. I was so exhausted. And then today happened--which was actually really smooth, thankfully. My flight left one time, we ended up circling Philly for about half an hour, but otherwise, it was good. Aaaaannnnnd my bag really was waiting for me when I got here! So I'm all set for the break. ^_^

Now I am going to rest. Ugh, so relieved to be home...

( Omg stocking. ¬_¬ )

I'm feeling so unmotivated. I have to revise a fiction piece liek woah by tomorrow morning and it's going so painfully slow. If I'm lucky, I'll finish in an hour... *slaves away*

From Hels. ( Whatever this is. )

So Anand and Sudeep are out of jail, and have been out of jail since last Wednesday. HOORAY!

Other than that, it's been a busy hectic week in an overall busy hectic semester. I completed course registration today (see schedule: http://tcpulse.com/psched/short/NjY0Nzg5 ) and DADSS is going to make me die, but I'll survive. I'm getting back on my feet with Fiction class, and I'm really liking it again, so maybe my second major really is still up in the air. Um.

I guess nothing else is up. I'm excited for Thanksgiving, though. YAY TURKEY!

So for anyone who hasn't heard or doesn't go to CMU, two of my friends from Mock Trial, Sudeep and Anand, were arrested on Sunday and are now being held at the Allegheny County Jail for criminal conspiracy and criminal tresspassing, with a one million dollar bond on their heads (each) which must be paid in full before they will be released on bail.

... Oy. They aren't even terrorists, and the feds backed off for all the friggin' bomb scares and whatever the hell else they've been accused of. I really think they only should have gotten fined, then released. They did a stupid thing, but all they were doing was filming a music video. *eyeroll*

Let's just say I'm pretty broken up and worried about this and I really hope they request a bond hearing soon. Anything to reduce the bail--I mean, the FBI already got off their backs, this is just ridiculous and needs to end. And what's worse, it really doesn't sound like they don't have any legal representation yet, and that's incredibly worrying. I wonder if the school is doing anything about this? Ugh.

What a semester. Jesus Christ.

In other news, Dennis Quaid and Sarah Jessica Parker are filming Smart People on campus this week and next week. Right now, they've taken over the History Department and there's a giant fan outside to simulate wind. I already hugged Dennis Quaid's cute yellow labrador puppy, and I really want to catch a glimpse of him before they wrap up over here. Could be fun!

EDIT: Okay, actually, I saw Dennis Quaid. Goal met. Next, Sarah Jessica Parker.

So I took my second dreaded cognitive psychology exam today. Yeah, it was damn difficult, but I'm pretty sure I did a lot better than I did on my first exam. Hell, at least this time around I was able to answer all of the essay questions! Big step-up from last time! It's a pretty good feeling. Also, my midterm grades weren't as bad as I feared they would be. I actually got two As and three Bs--no Cs. I thought for sure I would get a C in either Cognitive Psychology or Policy Analysis for midterm grades, but... Hey, I'm not a complete failure in school! Amazing!

Other than that, this upcoming weekend is Halloween weekend. This means many parties, a Drag Talent Show for ALLIES in Skibo Cafe, and Evil Stuff-oween. I do intend to attend the ALLIES drag talent show on evening (and everyone else should come, too, damnit! ;-) )--I haven't been attending ALLIES events much this semester and that makes me really sad. :-( I heart my ALLIES buddies and I miss you muchly. THUS I SHALL SEE YOU AT THE TALENT SHOW! And then afterwards, I'll probably head straight to baking cupcakes and cookies and such for Evil Stuff on Saturday evening.

Evil Stuff is actually for Alpha Phi Omega (a co-ed service fraternity for all those who don't know. I, um, pledged this semester. It's bunches of fun). It's--yes, ANOTHER--talent show. Or, more precisely, it's a 'no-talent' talent show for APhiO brothers. I heard that last year one brother decided to strip for Evil Stuff, and he actually tore off four pairs of underwear without being naked. Then he drew an 'A' on his chest, sat down, and held his breath until he passed out. He actually hadn't meant to pass out. Ha... um, Whoops. :D Either way, it sounds like fun, but I kind of need a costume for the event. And I don't have a costume. OY. :-O I'll figure something out. Maybe I'll tape a paper mask to my face that has a smiley face on it. It counts.

My health problems, by the way, are still not solved. I'm aiming to be well by next semester. Or my birthday. That works too.

Life is busy and stressful and sometimes I feel like tearing my head off and stomping it to bits. But I'm surviving and it'll be lovely! Eventually! ^_^ Besides, I dropped Creative Nonfiction and suddenly my life is much more manageable. Le sigh.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DANIELLE! BON ANNIVERSAIRE! FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS À TI! YOU'RE ALMOST LEGAL! :D PS - I need your address. I lost it.

Also, Congrats Jeffrey Sebelia for winning Project Runway. Hell, he was MY favorite.

And now, it is time for me to watch LOST on ABC.com for free! HOORAY FOR MID-SEMESTER BREAK!

I'm in a good mood today.

Quick reminder for myself for scheduling spring classes. I need to schedule:

1) Introduction to Psychology
2) Decision Analysis and Decision Support Systems
3) Statistics 36-202
4) Biology/Empirical Research Methods/Something else? Psych survey course? (I don't think I need the Biology credits after all. I fulfilled all my sciences.)
5) Programming 15-100

Also, Larissa, CHANGE YOUR ADDITIONAL MAJOR PRONTO.

Went to the doctor on Friday, and they said they can't do anything else for me. It figures. :D Now I have an appointment with the specialist at home over Thanksgiving, and hopefully more progress will be made. In the meantime, I'm going to try to get everything done while taking it easy. We'll see if that works.

Other than that, I had a retreat to Grace's apartment Friday to Saturday, which was a ton of fun. The pizza was pretty good, too--better than I usually expect from Pittsburgh. I'll have to try ordering from that place sometime. Saturday was also the Homecoming Chili Cookoff, but I came about 20 minutes late and ended up with NO mug and barely any good chili left to go around. :-( Sad.

On the bright side, I saw Georgia's adorable puppy and wanted to hug it. ^_^ Silly Captain, though I hear he's a naughty puppy.

*yawns*

I really need to get started on my "How To" story for fiction, although I have not the slightest clue where to begin. Bah. I need some inspiration, FAST.