| (no subject) |
[Feb. 15th, 2007|10:40 am] |
I've been thinking of moving out of Livejournal and starting a blog where I can post actual journal entries, rather than just quizzes and links. Of course, that would require effort, so we'll see.
In other news, I'm getting married in 3 days! |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 1st, 2006|04:44 pm] |
| What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta. | | The Midland | | | Boston | | | North Central | | | Philadelphia | | | The Northeast | | | The South | | | The Inland North | | What American accent do you have?
Take More Quizzes |
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| Stolen from my sister - The Ology Meme |
[Nov. 29th, 2006|12:27 am] |
**TECHN-OLOGY**
How many contacts are in your cell phone?
10ish
What is your wallpaper on your computer?
A gorgeous thunder-and-lightning landscape
What is your screensaver on your computer?
Matrix code
How many televisions are in your house?
One
**BI-OLOGY**
What do you consider to be your best physical attribute?
My eyes
Are you right handed or left handed?
Right
Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
I had my tonsils removed when I was about 5. And I had my soul removed, too. Pesky soul.
What is the heaviest item you lift regularly?
Umm... I recently moved, so I've been lifting lots of boxes and furniture. But regularly, I don't know.
Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
No
**MISCEL-OLOGY**
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
No way
If you could change your first name, what would you change it to?
Eh, I've lived with mine for so long I might as well keep it.
How do you express your artistic side?
What is this 'artistic side' of which you speak?
What color(s) do you think you look best in?
Green and black
How long do you think you could last in a medium security prison?
A woman's prison? I think I've seen that in a movie...
Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
The bottom cap of a pen and some coins. Not at the same time. ^^
How often do you go to church?
Never, unless you count sightseeing at cathedrals.
Have you ever saved someone's life?
No
Has someone ever saved yours?
No
**DARE-OLOGY**
Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100.00?
Not for $100, I wouldn't.
Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $500?
Dude, I've done that for free.
Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
Maybe, if I could have a fake finger to cover up the stump.
Would you never blog again for $50,000?
In a second.
Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?
Shit yeah.
Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
Sure
Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
It would depend on the person.
Would you shave your head and get your entire body waxed for $10,000?
Yeah. I've been waxed almost everywhere, anyway.
Would you give up watching television for a year for $50,000?
No problem, as long as I could get someone to record Lost for me. ^^ |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 22nd, 2006|12:38 pm] |
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Things have been pretty busy here - 2 weeks ago I went to CA for my dad's wedding, and last weekend I moved. I had one day, Sunday, to do everything, and we finished at 11pm. Since I leave home every morning at 6, and don't get back until right after 10, there hasn't been time to do any unpacking or cleaning so the place looks like a bomb hit it. Last night I felt ambitious (for some reason) and decided, at about 11pm, to put together a few pieces of furniture and do some laundry. What retarded demon could have possessed me to do that I don't know, but I didn't get to bed until 2am. Tonight my best friend, his wife, and I are driving to NJ to stay at my aunt's for Thanksgiving. We plan on leaving around 8 and I plan on being awake for quite possibly 30 whole minutes of the trip. We'll hopefully arrive by midnight, and we plan on heading back Saturday night around midnight. These odd times are ridiculous yet necessary - gone for me are the open roads and easy commutes of Santa Barbara county. Traffic around DC is worse than torture, because at least if you were being tortured there would be some pain to distract you from the monotony. And if you were being tortured, you probably wouldn't be surrounded by assholes in BMWs. |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 27th, 2006|09:37 pm] |
Well, since fully half (read: 2) of my readers responded, now I have to write something. Not that Justin has written anything lately, either. ^^
So, an update: I left Japan, flew to California, drove cross-country (in 3 days; I'm so proud of myself), and am now in Virginia. I'm staying with friends until I can move into my own apartment on November 19th. It's been 7 years since I last lived in the states, and I would say that it took me about 2 months to get over the reverse culture shock, get used to the new work schedule, and feel more comfortable getting around. I'm finally starting to feel like myself again, to get out, explore, and do the kinds of things that I like to do, and to not feel like a stranger anymore. It's weird; in Japan, where everyone stares at you as a matter of course, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Here, where I look just like everyone else, I felt like people were staring at me all the time and that I really stood out.
And it was odd not only moving back to the states after being away for so long, but not being 'home' either. Virginia is not like California, neither of them are like Japan, and my friends are probably sick of answering my stupid questions all the time. Some things still freak me out - it's still a shock every time I see the Washinton Monument, the Capitol Building, or the Lincoln Memorial. It's weird to drive past the Pentagon every day. It's amazing to be around so many gorgeous old brick buildings, so many trees, and see so much green all around.
Anyway, it's about time for me to go and dye my hair an unnatural shade of red. I'm doing cool Halloween stuff this weekend, so maybe I'll post some pictures if I take any good ones. I miss the Halloween Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm, though, dammit! |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 25th, 2006|02:53 pm] |
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It's been awhile, and a lot has changed. I'll try to be better about updating this thing. |
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| Links, mostly |
[Jul. 2nd, 2006|04:14 pm] |
I tried to type in 'mostly' and it came out 'monstely.' I think that's an adverb that has something to do with monsters.
Anyway, here's some links for your viewing and time-wasting pleasure:
Possibly the best commercial/promotional video ever made. I am ready to go out and buy their stuff, right now. This link is NOT work safe, no, not a bit:
Scruffs Workwear
The Earth is small and puny:
The Size of Our World
A Japanese toilet training video. I can't imagine how strange this would seem to someone who wasn't familiar with Japanese and/or Japan. The character is a from very popular children's cartoon of the same name, Shimajiro:
Potty Training, Japanese-style |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 9th, 2006|05:13 pm] |
Wow, it's been awhile. Since I last posted, I've moved and changed jobs. New place is great, jobs are okay. You know you live in Japan when you're working from 10am to 9pm. Not every day, though, and 3 days a week I have a pretty slack schedule. I've gone from teaching classes of little kids to teaching pair or one-on-one lessons with adults. Basically I talk pretty much non-stop for 9 hours a day, and since I rarely have the same students, I'm asking and answering the same questions over and over and OVER. By the end of the day I'm a twitching wreck, on the verge of snapping if I'm asked why I came to Japan or what my favorite Japanese food is one more time. I want to hang a sign on my chest that says:
My name is LISA
I'm from CALIFORNIA
I've been in Japan FIVE YEARS
My favorite Japanese food is CHEESE-MOCHI OKONOMIYAKI
There would also be a little blurb about why I came to Japan, since those 5 questions are about the only things I am ever asked. But I am asked them so many times I just might start making stuff up. I come home and beg my fiancee to talk to me in long sentences using proper grammar. I'm afraid I'm going to forget English; that I'm going to go home speaking in truncated sentences and leaving out particles. Every verb tense except for the present will be discarded.
I'm looking forward to the weekend! I'm going to Toei Movie Land with
Asidian. Sister + Cheesy samurai theme park = All kinds of awesome! |
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| Meme |
[Feb. 2nd, 2006|05:28 am] |
Four jobs I’ve had
1. Cashier at Burger King
2. Research/teaching assistant
3. Salesperson at at department store
4. Teacher
Four movies I can watch over and over
1. BASEketball
2. Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight
3. The Princess Bride
4. Austin Powers
Four places I have lived
1. Brindisi, Italy
2. Cairo, Egypt
3. Osaka, Japan
4. Gloustershire, England
Four TV shows I love
1. Mystery Science Theater 3000
2. Whose Line is it Anyway?
3. Family Guy
4. Iron Chef
Four places I’ve vacationed
1. Denpasar, Bali
2. Bangkok, Thailand
3. Istanbul, Turkey
4. Nairobi, Kenya
Four of my favorite dishes
1. Fried plantains
2. Omelette rice
3. Curry
4. My dad's spaghetti
Four sites I visit daily
1. The Internet Movie Database
2. Penny Arcade
3. Ain't It Cool News
4. Osaka's weather forecast
Four places I would rather be right now
1. Somewhere warm, but barring that,
2. Scotland
3. India, or, more realistically
4. At Mark's place
Five people I am tagging
Hah! My friends hate doing these things almost as much as I like doing them. I'm not even going to try. |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 19th, 2005|04:37 am] |
| [ | music |
| | Elvis Presley - Burning Love | ] |
I am procrastinating so badly right now. I need to be packing and burning CDs, not sitting on my ass in front of my computer. My tea is finished so I can't even fool myself into thinking that this is a tea break. I'm so excited to be going home, I'm amazed that I can sit still. I have been/will be so busy though that it's helping to take my mind off of leaving. Sunday was brilliant - I went shopping in Kyoto with Nora and I think I finished my Christmas gift list. It was freezing, we got snowed on, and we got to see a traditional Japanese wedding at Yasaka jinja. Seeing the bride and groom walking away through the snow was incredible. We got back to Osaka, went for Thai food, then went to a Cuban bar for drinks. I think that the Mojito may be the finest alcoholic beverage ever invented. And one of my friends had her baby today, so I am going to visit her in the hospital tomorrow - before work and after seeing King Kong. I can't wait to see that movie. I was talking about it with some of my students tonight and apparently there's a promotion at Baskin Robbins with some kind of King Kong ice-cream and a drawing for prizes. I asked what the ice-cream tasted like and the boy didn't know, so I asked him what it looked like and he said a word I'd never heard before, 'susamajii.' I looked it up and found out that it means 'fearful, terrific, dreadful, threatening.' And my god, do you know how much I am dying to try ice-cream that can be described as 'dreadful and threatening?' I may never eat anything else again.
Update: Just looked at the Japanese Baskin Robbin's page. 'Jungle Kong Sherbert' has banana, mango, acerola, pineapple, and orange, and it looks a bit like desert camoflage would, if the desert was like, neon. 'Kong in NY Cheesecake' sounds and looks much better, and of course you can get a Kong-sized cone. I love movie promotions in Japan. Oh, speaking of names of sizes, my movie theater now has an 'American size' for the popcorn and drink set. Yup, it's the biggest one there is. |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 16th, 2005|06:55 pm] |
You are 'Jingle Bells'! Full of enthusiasm and
good cheer, you are excited by the first
appearances of Christmas decorations in shops
and have been heard singing along to the piped
music. Your attitude to Christmas is one of
childlike delight - with a slightly mercenary
streak. You definitely believe in Santa (you
get more presents that way) and will put up
your Christmas tree as early as possible. You
really like carolling, and presents, and mince
pies, and pudding, and will insist on getting
everyone up at dawn to open presents
immediately. So long as the food and presents
are good, you will have a great Christmas.
What Christmas Carol are you?
brought to you by Quizilla |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 8th, 2005|06:21 am] |
 Oh Great Cthulhu!I have been an extremely industrious devotee this year. In June, I rammed a ship into you (sorry Cthulhu!) (-1000 points). When the stars were right, I fed ![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) storm_dreamer to a Shoggoth (250 points). In April, I defiled the grave of that traitor, Lovecraft (90 points). In February, I bombed a cultist gathering (-100 points). In October, I wore an Elder Sign (-10 points). In July, I stopped asidian from defiling Lovecraft's grave (-20 points). In short, I have been very bad (-790 points) and deserve to have my body used as a host for one of your servitors. Your humble and obedient servant, snarking
Submit your own plea to Cthulhu! |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 15th, 2005|07:31 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  pissed off | ] |
This has been bothering me for quite some time, and I feel the need to vent. I moved out of my parents' house when I was 19. That was 9 years ago. Of those 9 years, 7 have been spent out of the country. And for the entire 9 years, I have sent birthday and Christmas cards to most people in my extended family. And for most of those 9 years, I have not gotten a single birthday or Christmas card in return. I am a dumbass. Why do I keep writing to these people? It's fucking expensive to buy Christmas and birthday cards here, and I have to buy stamps in a FOREIGN LANGUAGE, people. All you have to do is walk your ass to the fucking drug store. You can buy a card, buy a stamp, and mail the fucker ALL IN ONE PLACE. Isn't America MAGIC? Truly, it is THE PROMISED LAND. You'd think that people would have the common courtesy to write twice a year, especially if they themselves are consistantly getting mail. You'd also think that maybe if a family member is living alone in a foreign country it might be nice to send them some mail, oh, maybe 2 out of the 365 days in the fucking year. I just got done writing and addressing 2 birthday cards to 2 aunts who never send me shit. Well, guess what, aunts, treasure these cards because they are your LAST. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 10th, 2005|09:46 pm] |
| Your Birthdate: September 15 | 
You take life as it is, and you find happiness in a variety of things.
You tend to be close to family and friends. But it's hard to get into your inner circle.
Making the little things wonderful is important to you, and you probably have an inviting home.
You seek harmony with others, but occasionally you have a very stubborn streak.
Your strength: Your intense optimism
Your weakness: You shy away from exploring your talents
Your power color: Jade
Your power symbol: Flower
Your power month: June |
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| Halloween! |
[Oct. 31st, 2005|07:42 am] |
I spent the Saturday night before Halloween at a goth club in Osaka. Goth is a bit different in Japan than at home; the word is actually 'Lolita' in katakana-English, and rather than the usual black I see a lot of Alice in Wonderland, doll-like frocks, bonnets, and blonde curls. I read that they call themselves 'EGA,' or Elegant Gothic Aristocrats, but that was in an article about visual kei, and so it might only apply to fans of that genre of music. Anyway, not being a goth myself I was severely underdressed, but even as one of the only 'straights' in the room I still had fun. The dress code was goth/cyber/fetish/bondage/vampire/industrial, and some of the clothing was just amazingly elaborate. I took lots of pictures, but I didn't get the best of the lot. There was this one part of the club that was like a slightly raised area beside the dance floor, which was where all of the cooler-than-thou goths had enthroned themselves, and I was too intimidated to ask for pictures of them. One of the women looked like French Revolution nobility; her dress was incredible. But everyone I asked for a picture was really nice, and seemed happy to pose for me. The best ones are here, for your viewing pleasure:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/snarking/
We stayed at the club all night (the trains stop running at about midnight, which is just when the things start picking up), left for breakfast at about 4:30am, and got back home by 7:15. Another Sunday spent sleeping most of the day away, which is usually a fantastic way to spend the weekend. I did feel a bit guilty, though, as we woke up after 1 and then spent most of the rest of the afternoon at a friend's house watching movies. The guilt came from the fact that it was an absolutely gorgeous fall day, and I felt that I should really be at a temple or on a hike or something. Oh well, I guess it's not every day that I get to be a part of the Japanese goth scene. |
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snarking's journal