http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/18414932/ Tue, 20 May 2008 12:50:49 PDT With my mom. Well, maybe not as romantic, but hey, she paid for everything. So, where did we finally escape to?

Wyoming!

...

...Okay, so it's only one state away, but you'd be surprised at how much of a difference that can make. I went to Yellowstone, the obligatory Everyone Must Go There Once National Park. People come from all over the world to see things like...



This! Uh, yeah... This mysterious glowing pool of overexposure... Actually, this was just the first "thermal feature" we came across, so I decided to take a picture of it. This is probably a bit more accurate:



Ah, boiling water getting violently spewed out of the earth! That's more like it! Of course, there's lot's of just plain pretty stuff too, like these blue pools:



It was so cold that day that it was really hard to even see some of the other pools; there was just so much steam obscuring everything. It's easy to see why every year a few people and animals get killed by these things. They're just so warm and pretty and nice... I forget exactly which it is, but supposedly one of the pools has a bunch of bones at the bottom of it. Still, you'd have to be pretty stupid to accidentally fall into one of these things, as they boardwalk and rail the crap out of anything remotely dangerous. But hey, they probably just don't want lawsuits over their heads from the morons who want to jump in a geyser. Stupid stupid people and their stupidity!

Here's a view of the area:



Huh, I guess I can see why some people think it might randomly explode someday, what with all the cracks and steam and seeping, but I doubt it will happen anytime soon.

Here's a view of the lodge we stayed at for the night (because it was way too expensive for us to stay there any longer than that):



I believe it is actually the largest log cabin on earth. I wouldn't doubt it, because it really is stinkin' huge when you're in it. Ah, nothing shows mankind's dominance over nature better than a five story building featuring hundreds of logs in every possible direction. Awesome! (Oh, it's not like I just loooove wanton forest destruction, quite the opposite, but seriously, if you're going to level an entire forest, then you might as well do something really cool with it.)



Here's looking waaaaay up high with my dingy camera. These aren't really 'floors', but counting the beams and stairs, they would make it five stories high, I believe. According to the little sign posted on the stairs, that alcove way up top is called the Crow's Nest, and was part of the building's designer's childhood dream. Back in the day, there would be an orchestra in the upper parts, and people would dance on the hardwood floor below. This of course means that they haven't let anyone up there in the last fifty years, as the structure has become unstable and is now unable to support all the f... ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/18100395/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/18100395/ Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:31:43 PDT
But no. Lately, anytime he's at work the same time I am, he spends at least half the time right at my register, hovering over my shoulder, pretending to be helpful and bag so customers don't get the wrong idea. But all he does is tell me all the stuff I'm doing wrong. Maybe if I actually sucked at my job, I'd understand, but I do everything he says. I ask if their purchase will be on a Kohl's charge. I ask if they want to get a Kohl's charge and save 10% plus twelve additional savings a year, slowly crushing my soul in the process. They say no. 99% of the time they say no. Do you think anybody else is having better luck? Not really. But apparently falling under the goal is all my fault, because he can't seem to get over the fact that I don't get 5 @&$#ing charge cards every shift.

I try to offer why many customers don't want a Kohl's charge, but he doesn't care. Actually, I'm pretty sure he's just too much of a moron to realize that the economy is in a slump and that a lot of people have wised up the scheme of department charge cards. In his head, I'm just not trying hard enough. Fine. Like a give a damn about the company.

Lately though, he takes issue with every last thing I do. Customer needs help? I'm not fast enough giving it to them. Heaven forbid I might want to inquire about the problem a bit before I decided on the right course of action. Oh, oops, I forgot to go into detail about the survey slip with their receipt, the one where the customers get absolutely nothing for filling it out. Seriously, if you want people to go out of their way to take a survey, they're gonna want something out of the deal. And now, I can't even say 'thank you' right. I say thank you, but not at the right time or right way, I guess. He says stuff like, "I know other people have talked to you about this." No, actually, they haven't. He's the only one that takes issue with how I work. I try to say this to him; he cuts me off every time I try to answer or explain myself. I've talked to some of the other employees, and while he is an all around bastard, I'm the only one he bullies like this.

But you know what the worst thing is? He threatens to fire me over these stupid things, in front of the customers. He says stuff like, "If you can't even do that, then you better start looking for another job." or, "I'll have to let you go if you keep this up." Seriously. There's a line of people waiting to be checked out, here. It's absolutely humiliating. After a few hours of this constant abuse, I can't even do my job. I have to either leave or take a long break to cool off.

I talked to one of the other managers yesterday about getting moved to another department where he won't constantly be hovering over me, and I think it worked. She still works under him (he's the store manager, the rest manage other specific things), but I told her it's that or I quit, and I've had more than one manager tell me that I'm a good worker and that they don't want to lose me. So hopefully all that beef is over, but I dunno, do you think I should look for another job anyway?

(Edit: Dinked around with the text colors - Hopefully it's easier to read now.)

http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/17417807/ Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:17:18 PDT

Well, my art class is going well, although I'm not sure if I'll have anything terribly interesting to submit, as we've been drawing pretty basic stuff like plants and hallways. We're starting figures this week, though, so that should start to get more interesting.

Oh, and as you probably(?) noticed, I'm experimenting with a new journal CSS. I'm planning to put some new, improved chibis up top soon as well, once I, y'know, get around to it. This background alone took way longer than I thought.

Anywho, here's hoping I spruce the place up a bit. Ugh, but Super Smash Bros.... It calls...

Sites I love:
Anime Lyrics - Find out what they're singing about in all those weird anime songs.
Cosplay.com The pictures here range from amazing to absolutely terrifying. But there's lots of great costume ideas and inspiration.
The Institute of Official Cheer - I have no idea how to explain this site, only that it's one of the most hilarious places I've ever been on the web, but in a very sophisticated way. James Likeks' humor isn't for everyone, but for those it matches... Hours of entertainment.
Court Records - The best site for Phoenix Wright fans. You know who you are.
Behind the Name - Find out quite possibly more than you wanted to know about almost any first name out there. Great for making good names for original characters.
I Can Has Cheezburger? - I can't explain. Just go. ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/16419465/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/16419465/ Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:21:23 PST

Yep, class is back in session, to which I say, THANK GOD! Finally, an excuse to cut my hours at Kohl's! I was working there 5 days a week at the registers, just standing there, scanning and bagging things all day long... Any kind of work where I don't have to deal with people is welcome relief. Oh, and I get to see my school friends again. Ah, school with friends... Now that's something I lacked for far too long.

Anyway this semester I'm taking Art History (bound to be more interesting than my last history class, which was nothing but politics), Sociology (because the teacher is cool, have no idea about the subject), Japanese IV (since that is my main goal for my future), and Drawing (so I can actually get decent and post more stuff).

This is the first semester I'm doing 12 credits for, so I'm hoping that doesn't kill me. I've been told by pretty much every teacher in the school, "Don't ever take more than 12 credits. You will fail, and then you will cry, but no one will take pity on you because you just HAD to bite off more than you could chew, didn't you?" And from what I've seen of the students who do take more than 12 credits... Yep, they're right. So I'm gonna avoid that and make 4 classes my max.

And on a random note: AAAAAAAAGH!! My journal is driving me CRAZY!!! I've got to change it to something else fast, or I'm gonna lose it...

]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/16091755/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/16091755/ Tue, 25 Dec 2007 10:48:33 PST

~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/15820331/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/15820331/ Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:01:28 PST

http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/15672779/ Sun, 25 Nov 2007 23:32:08 PST

~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/15022642/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/15022642/ Thu, 11 Oct 2007 22:55:20 PDT

~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/14363666/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/14363666/ Mon, 27 Aug 2007 11:26:30 PDT

The whole friggin' valley is stacked with it! A few miles down is the actually quarry where they dig it out (or blast it out, I'm not sure how they get it out, actually), this is just one of the few flat places where they can dump it all and get it ready for shipping. There's a big crane further to the left to lift them onto the trucks.

Let's look to the right, shall we?

~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/14254957/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/14254957/ Mon, 20 Aug 2007 11:26:40 PDT

First on our stop is the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, named so because it’s a dark canyon, possibly with Gunnison Sage Grouse (alas, I had no such luck finding any). Hope you don’t mind heights, or else you’ll be clinging to that rail for dear life as vertigo overtakes you. Me? Oh, I’m fine. Y-Yeah, just wanna move a little slower through these parts, y’know? J-Just a safety precaution...

It’s a strange canyon, because it just looks like some boring mosty flat land with a few hills, only to have this huge CRACK appear that goes waaaaaay far down appear.

Wait a minute, we’re not even looking down yet! Let’s change that!



Sorry for the lack of action ‘round these parts lately: I decided to read the last six Harry Potter books before I read the last one, and have been avoiding the internet in fear of evil spoilers, although I already read one in a magazine talking about the series, you’d think they’d have enough sense not to print something like that... Ugh, anyway, I’m halfway through the sixth book now, so I oughta be finished pretty soon. I’ve been taking an anime drawing class as well, so with any luck, my artwork will start to suck less fairly soon. I’ve been learning some pretty good stuff, but, well, still gotta practice.

Dammit, I’m so pissed that it’s already August! Where the hell did summer go? I haven’t even gotten out of town or gone swimming or anything. And now it’s been raining almost all of last week, ruining any happy water park fantasies of mine. I HATE FALL! I LOATHE WINTER!! After that last horrible winter, I don’t want to see snow for years. Damn frozen water! What good has it even done, huh?

Urrrg... I’m so tired from all this rain... I’m just all cranky from all these clouds, I guess. Which then makes me cranky about other stuff, so if you’re in the mood to complain about something, go ahead, I’ll rant along. In the meantime, I’ll be reading all the journals I’ve missed, hoping my eyes won’t give out...



Bored? Come surf the links!

Read the FAQ, ya n00b!
Make a CSS Journal the easy way!
Wanna find the lyrics to that obscure anime song? Anime Lyrics is the place to be!
Fan of Phoenix Wright? Court Records has it all! ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/13793404/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/13793404/ Thu, 19 Jul 2007 10:08:05 PDT

~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/13439635/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/13439635/ Thu, 21 Jun 2007 22:43:35 PDT

Urf. Apologies for the lack of action 'round these parts, frankly, I've been too damn LAZY to do much lately. All I've wanted to do is watch obsene amounts of anime and get as many Level 99 Chao as my sanity can take. In other words, I've become a Temporary Unproductive Lump of Society. Any time I get online, the only thing I seem to do is spend hours reading Minnesota blogs (note that I'm only there to read James Lileks, not for some odd fascination with a state I've never been to). And after two hours of staring at the screen, I get the urge to stare at something else, even if it's just a different screen. Y'know...?

I need a job. Whyyyyyyy do they all have those terrible online aplications!? It's either 32 pages of "personality assessments" (no joke) or the site screws up halway through and makes me start over. FINE THEN, I WON'T WORK FOR YOU! Geeeez.

I also managed to review a whole 2 things down at AnimeNfo. No idea why, really. Just to write something, I guess.

Exciting Development! I finally managed to drag myself to a math class! And I'm pleased to announced that it's the lowest level math class possible at ACC. Go math dunces! I've also signed up for an anime and manga drawing class, in the hopes that it will make me suck less.

Anybody else read Get Fuzzy? That is the BEST American comic ever. Bucky's like a male siamese version of my cat, it's so awesome. Oh, and you know what? TOASTER STRUDELS FTW!

...Okay, I'm running out of things to talk about, time for pictures.

Bird of the Week


I figured I'd better post this before the summer's over and it's completely out of context. I was sooooo ecstastic when I found these guys, I'd never seen any before in my life. Wood ducks! The most beautiful ducks in America! With ducklings!! I snapped a ton of pics, knowing that my terrible camera skills would yield only two or three decent ones out of 30 or so. So here she is, a proud mother with her darling chicks. DAWWW!!

It's strange... Even though female wood ducks are mottled brown like all the other girl ducks, there's something undeniably feminine and pretty about her face. She just looks like a girl. There simply cannot be any mistake. She oozes pink girly cuteness. The males on the other hand...

...Are about the fanciest ducks there are. The males were further away than the girl was, so this is... ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/13318880/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/13318880/ Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:11:57 PDT

Well, I've been lazy. Still got a week before my classes start, so I'm taking advantage of it and being extra unproductive, I guess. I've been reading manga and watching anime all day, it seems... And when I get bored of that, I go on the internet. I need a job... T_T

I've been trying to draw/write more to feel slightly useful. So things are coming along... slowly. I recommend you watch my scraps if you want to see more of my stuff, 'cause that's where I put all my works in progress and things I don't deem gallery worthy.

Hrmmm... It's raining... and it's cold. Yesterday was so hot, what happened? Not that I mind.

Wow, I'm exciting, aren't I? Oh, I guess one cool thing did happen. I went to the library the other day and found, tucked away on the end of a shelf in the corner, an anime collection! A small one, but still, 99.999999% free anime! Now THAT'S what our tax dollars should be for! So right now, I have the first disks of Assuming Daioh, Kyou Kara Maou!, and Revolutionary Girl Utena. Anybody else seen any of these? I'd never seen any of them before, but I've heard a lot about them all, so I checked 'em out. Here's my impression after watching the first few episodes:

Azumanga Daioh: This series makes no sense. I love it!! My fave characters are Osaka-chan and Chiyo-chan.
Kyou Kara Maou! Oh boy, and I thought the Yami no Matsuei anime was risqué. Poor Yuuri-kun gets more bishounen thrown at him than he can keep up with! Between his lilac-haired servant who gets nosebleeds around him to the young frilly snob who he accidently proposed to by slapping, it's a yaoi fangirl's dream come true. At least Yuuri doesn't seem interested in them... ...Yet.
Revolutionary Girl Utena: This series... is STRANGE. I have no idea what to think. Well, except for one thing: Himemiya, get yourself a friggin' BACKBONE already! You've been slapped in every episode so far! Never in a series have I seen such blatant girl slapping. I like Utena though, she has a good personality. And I was extra happy when I found out that Takehito-sama is in it! Waaaaai!! Takehito, Takehito, TAKEHITO-SAMA!! Plus, the mysterious prince reminds me of Zelgadis, and the theme song sounds like it's sung by Masami Okui. It's just keeps reminding me of Slayers!

Oh, I finally figured out how to align stuff in my journal, so maybe I can make things look neater.

http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/13155044/ Wed, 30 May 2007 18:24:45 PDT

Since my last entry was so wordy, what with that super-long survey thing, this time I gurantee more pretty pictures and less boring words! But first, another tag I randomly filled out last night. NOOOOOO!!!

Don't worry, this one isn't nearly as long.

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4.
“And this indignent commentator went on to say...” Is that what you wanted?

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.
Still... can’t... reach... soda...

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Miss Universe 2007. I was doing other things, it was my mom who wanted to see it... But Japan won! W00t!

4. Without looking, guess what time it is:
11:30PM. Shouldn’t I get to sleep?

5. Now look at the clock. What is the actual time?
11:31PM. Oh! Booya!

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
Crickets outside, cars driving around.

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
Went to the dollar store for assorted cheep doodads and Petco for mealworms for Hoshi. How exciting!

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
My messages.

9. What are you wearing?
T-shirt and shorts.

10. Did you dream last night?
Of course! I dreamed about chao, funny talking animals, Heroes, ferrets, Slayers fighting in some big cave, buying stuff out of a vending machine...

11. When did you last laugh?
Probably today... I’d be depressing if I hadn’t.

12. What are on the walls where you are?
Assorted pictures of birds, anime posters, Japanese wall scrolls, and light blue splotchy paint.

13. Seen anything weird lately?
Yeah, this mouse with seriously huge balls. THIS DOES NOT LOOK GOOD ON MICE.

14. What do you think of this quiz?
You’re not the most creative asker of questions.

15. What is the last film you saw?
Who knows. Haven’t seen a movie in so long. I’ve been getting too into TV on DVD.

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?
A bigger house. And manga. Delicious MANGA!

17. Tell me something about you that I don't know.
You don’t know anything about me, weird quiz dude.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
BAN YAOI. AND YURI. BURN IT ALL, THEN VAPORIZE THE ASHES!

19. Do you like to dance?
It’s okay, but I suck at it.

20. George Bush:
GAAAAH! WOULD YOU PEOPLE JUST SHUT UP ABOUT BUSH!? I DON’T CARE! HE’S NOT TERRIBLE, NOR IS HE WONDERFUL! HE’S JUST SOME DUDE TO ME!

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
No idea.

22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Seriously, I don’t know!

23. Would you ever consider living abroad?
I wanna live in Japan for awhile.

24. What do you want God to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
“Thanks for not ditching me like all those other jerks.” ¬¬

25.Tag six people who must also do this in THEIR journal:
Do it if ya wanna.

http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/13029988/ Sun, 20 May 2007 19:06:31 PDT

Wow, I just realized that today's my DA birthday! I've been a member for a whole year now! ...Although I actually didn't do much with it 'till late July. So yep! Here's hoping I'm not such a n00b anymore!

So in commemoration I have... nothing. Well, nothing except another pointless survey free for the taking! This week's theme is Video Games!

Genres/firsts.

1. What was the first video game you have ever played?
Wow, probably some ancient computer game when I was little. They were sort of educational games, but they were the first video game like thing I played. I remember one game was called Cosmic Osmo. It was by the studio that ended up making Myst a few years later, and it was so old that it was entirely in black and white. That’s old school, yo!
2. What was your first console?
A Sega Genesis. But it was a portable one. It was the fattest thing you’d ever seen compared to what we have now, but it had a little screen built in and everything. But it connected to the TV and behaved like a normal Sega, so I dunno what to call it.
3. Have you ever visited a video game arcade?
Yeah, but I haven’t been there in a while.
4. What was your first handheld?
Since I don’t know if the Sega thing counts or not, I’ll say Game Boy Color.
5. What was the first game you've beaten/cleared completely?
Hmm... I’m not sure.
6. Games based off of real sports: Yay or Nay?
Like football? NAAAAAY! Some snowboarding games are fun, though.
7 .Online games: Yay or nay?
I say yay, just for the technology. I don’t play many online games, mainly because I don’t care for shooters, racing gets boring, and MMORPGs get too complicated. X_x; But if there was a working Soul Calibur online? Sign me up!
8.Do you play any Massively Multiplayer Online RPG games? (MMORPGs?)
I’ve played Everquest and Final Fantasy XI, but I never really got into them. Just got tired of pounding oversized bees and mutant bunnies after a while.
9.Do you play any virtual pet games
If the chao from Sonic Adventure 2 count, then hell yes.
10. Puzzle games and Strategy games: Yay or Nay?
Puzzle: nay. Strategy: Yay. I SUCK at straight puzzle games. You know those sliding tile puzzle games they have? I’ve never put one back together. NEVER.
11. Do you play any RPGs?
Yep, one of my fave genres.
12. Do you play any Platformer games?
Yep, I like those, too. I’ve played some really bad ones, though.
13. What was the first game/console/handheld of yours that stopped working?
Actually, I don’t remember any of our consoles breaking. Although I remember the Sega started dying... My original PS1 still works, but barely.

Characters/Plot

14. Do you actually care if a game has a plot or do you just play games for the game play?
A really good game has to have both, because I love getting swept up in an epic story. http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12931015/ Sat, 12 May 2007 15:14:39 PDT

Ugh... I feel so lazy now that school's out. Why can't I just get a job and be useful? But I'm too picky about where I want to work... Like, I don't want a food-related job because my hair would make it a disaster. Even if it's tied back, it still whips around and knocks things over and gets in stuff. Not to mention the places I've applied to all seem to give me this "Oh great, some stupid blonde chick" look when I hand in my application. Thanks guys, that really makes me feel comfortable about your 'friendly work environment.'

At least I'm bird banding on Fridays. Birdies always make everything better. When you see a little face like this, you can't help but smile:



I mean, come on! How can you not go "Aww!" to that? Oh yeah, it's a male Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, a tiny little buzzy bird that's only 4.5 inches long (2 of the inches being it's tail). They're just - so - CUUUUUTE! Getting to hold them and pet them is just the best! (I'm not the one holding it here, though.)



A weird thing happened as we were banding, around 7:30 AM. We were going around, checking the nets, when we heard this... sound. It's really hard to describe. The best way I can render it in clumsy English letters is: WHIIIIIRRRROOOOAAAAAHHGKRRRRNCH. Sort of like a... howling crunch. I had absolutely no idea what it was. Nothing in the forest makes howling crunch noises. Then not a minute later: WEEEEEEEERRRRRR! Oh, an ambulance. Ohhhhh, I get it! A car crash! 30 seconds after the first ambulance got there: WEEEEERRRRWEEEEERRRRBZZZZBZZZZHROOOOOONK! Looking across the ponds and fields to the far-off road was a whole parade of anything with sirens. Either it was really bad or the emergency people were really bored as two huge fire trucks, three ambulances, and 5 or more cop cars came zooming in. I gotta hand it to 'em, they got there pretty fast. Suffice to say, I was having trouble hearing the birds at that time. Some almost seemed to sing louder though, as if in defiance of the noisy, unmusical sirens. When I got a chance to look back at the street again, it was totally backed up. I couldn't see the crash, just the road it was on. It must've been blocking the road, though.

Five minutes after the howling crunch came a deep roaring VVVVVVRRRRRRRRRRRN with a high-pitched KIIIIIIIII mixed in. Oh, a helicopter. I looked up at it through my binoculars. Fox News. Geez, how did they get here so soon!? Must've been in the area already. Then... Another one! This time it was a green and blue one. They both circled around for awhile, like loud, spinning vultures. And now... I - Can't - Hear - My - BIRDS! The ambulances are quiet now, why can't you be? Well, the green one seemed to have landed, and when it took off, it did so in one direction. Mother and I tried to determine which... ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12760298/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12760298/ Fri, 27 Apr 2007 21:52:46 PDT

For spring to get it's lazy butt here, that is! But I'm pleased to announced that it's stopped snowing () and all the pretty flowers have started blooming here. Yaaaay!



That's the neighbor's apple tree that faces the sidewalk by our front door. It's absolutely the biggest apple tree I've ever seen. I mean, it's HUUUGE! That thing must be fifty years old or so... And it makes a whole crap-load of apples in the fall, lemme tell you. But it's pretty right now!

I sure wish all the flowers would last longer... Two weeks later and they're all gone. All this great stuff to see and I've been stuck inside finishing all these projects for finals. Just one week left and then I'm freeeeeee! *runs along beach waving towel behind** ...Well maybe not (no beaches in Colorado >.<.

Anyway, I get to start bird-banding this week, so that should be fun! If you have no idea what that is, it's when, during spring and fall migration, people put up mist nets in forests to catch the birds flying by and put little bands on their legs with a number to track them if they're ever caught again. But the best part is simply being able to see all the birds up close and even hold them! Ohh, I love it.

I have been drawing some stuff, but I haven't been able to do much about it the last week, so... For the moment, you'll just have to make do with this adorable picture of Itsy, my only hand-tamed finch. She's my baby!


I LOVE THAT BIRD!!

Oh, and just for the sake of randomness...
Comment on this journal and I will do the following:

1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll challenge you to try something.
3. I'll pick a color that I associate with you.
4. I'll tell you something I like about you.
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of
7. I'll ask you something I've always wanted to ask you
8. If I do this for you, you must post this in your journal!

Dang, such as sucker for these things... I won't make you do it or anything, though.

http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12632446/ Tue, 17 Apr 2007 13:23:37 PDT

Because I got tagged by *ShadowRunner27 that is! And that means another pointless time waster for the collection!

1) What is your full name?
Rebecca Anne Duerksen

2) What are your favorite colors?
White, silver, pink, violet.

3) What kinds of Anime do you like?
Sci-fi and fantasy, mostly. Even better if their wacky!

4) What do you usually do when you get bored?
Go do something. Seriously, it’s hard for me to just sit and do nothing unless I’m really tired.

5) What is your favorite soda?
Sierra Mist. I live off it...

6) What kind of guys/girls do you like?
Hmm what kind of guys... Well, that needs to be split up into seperate categorys.
Personality: Someone who’s a genuinly kind and caring person, but who’s still not afraid to be a man and save the day. Preferably has a good sense of humor and likes animals.
Looks: LONG HAIR!! How I loooove it! Of course, long hair for a guy can be short hair for a girl, so I qualify it as 4-inches or longer. Can be most any style or color, not very picky about that. I also have been known to crush hopelessly on anime boys with long purple hair or wavy blonde hair and glasses.

7) What would you do if your brother or sister bothers you?
Ha! I don’t have any!

8) What's your favorite animal?
BIRDIES!!! But you already knew that, huh?

9) What time do you go to bed?
Sometime between 11:00 and 12:00 PM.

10) What is your favorite day of the week?
Fridays and Saturdays: The start of the weekend!

11) What kinds of stuff do you do on the weekends?
Play videogames, read manga, attempt to rollerblade, go birding, shop if I have any money, write, and draw.

12) What job would you want when you're older?
It’d be cool to be a novelist, but since that’s not the most... steady career, I’m going to try to be a Japanese/English translator.

13) What are some things that you liked in the past?
Well... I used to get crushes on the strangest guys... and then think, “Eww, why did I like them?” Fortunately, I seem to have grown out of that...

14) What is your favorite body part?
Oh, that's just ASKING for a naughty answer! But instead of saying some euphemism for reproductive organs, I’ll go with good ol’ white blood cells. They count, right?

*****

(The 'HOW's)

15) How many fan characters do you have?
I don’t really do fan characters any more. I have a whole truck full of original characters, though!

16) How do you say your username backwards?
Nahc-iid. ...That sounds kind of arabic...

17) How old are you?
18.5

18) How good can you draw?
Duh, I dunno, okay I guess?

19) How long can you run?
I honestly have no idea. I don’t really wanna find out, either.

20) How tall are you and your main fan character?
I’m 5’1. And um... I have a lot of main characters, which one?

21) How many languages can you speak? Can you try them?
English (Look! I’m doing it now!)
Japanese (Second semester. Currently learning how to say things like: Nihon-go wo hakkagetsu gurai benkyou shita kara, su... ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12507829/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12507829/ Sun, 08 Apr 2007 09:33:16 PDT

First, a happy Resurrection Day to all, also know as Happy Colored Egg Day, happy Spring Day, happy Sunny Flower Day, and happy Bunnies and Ducklings, and Little Yellow Fuzzy Chick Day! So happy Easter. Ahh, I remember back in the day when I went out in the back yard to hunt for eggs. It was so nice to skip along amongst all the spring flowers. I look forward to seeing all the little flowers and duckies on Easter.

Too bad it's SNOWING OUT.

Woke up and went outside to find this:

This is the view from out the front door. Ain't it lovely?

Around the building looking west we find this:

This is part of the front of the condo. The reddish thing on the hill is part of a little fountain stream, for when it's actually, y'know, warm.

Aaaaand looking down the street we have:

Well, there's enough snow to stick to the roads, that's for sure.

My prognosis? Global warming my frozen ass, this has been one of the coldest winters in years. .6 degrees celsius over the last century doesn't mean SQUAT.



On a random note, I got in the strangest mood the other day and just had to play Sonic Adventure 2. Everybody seems to hate that game, and I don't get it. The reviews say the first Sonic Adventure was better, but I played it and I liked the second one way more. I even love those levels where you have to search for those master emerald shards. Everybody else seems to hate those levels, though! Am I just messed up?? But the thing that really got me was those adorable little Chao. Who cares about Sonic and his dorky pals, I just wanna raise those little things! The only reason I play is to get more stuff for 'em! They're just so cuuuute! And you can race them, and make them fight each other, and breed them, and AWW!

If only they had a version online, so everyone could race and trade chao, that would be the best.

http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12444564/ Tue, 03 Apr 2007 13:00:04 PDT

Yes, it's so close! Nearly there! I can almost TASTE IT!!

I'm almost done coloring the Snapdragon picture!

...Uh, I thought you were talking about spring.

Oh, that too. A few flowers are emerging. Those four-petaled flowers on those bushes, those little short purple flowers by the edges of things... And I have no idea what most plants are called, as you can see. A few trees here and there have started to bloom, but most are still just buds. There's a huge apple tree across from our condo that's part of the neighbor's backyard, and it's so beautiful when it blooms and is filled with singing birdies. But last year, just as it bloomed, it snowed. It killed ALL of the blossoms, every last one. And when fall came around? Not one apple. Not one. STUPID SNOW!! I HATE YOU!! It better not do that this year, or I'll be so pissed...

Went to a little lake yesterday, where there were lots of different kinds of ducks. Some Mallards, Ring-necked Ducks, Gadwalls, Northern Shovelers, Green Winged Teals, Hooded Mergansers, and cute widdle Buffleheads. There was even a duck who looked like this:

Domestic Mallard, most likely. The one I saw had a little tuft of feathers on it's head, though.

Ducks are fun to watch, too. There was a pair of Mallards on the shore, when another male came swimming up. They started quacking and the female waddled away, but the boys followed behind her, quacking and squabbling with each other. Finally, she got fed up and took off, followed by the boys. They flew in circles around the lake, trying to keep up with the female, but quacking and fighting with each other in the air as well. Hee hee! It works both ways, though. At a river the other day, there was a pair swimming near an island. The female kept following the male around quacking incessantly and sounding very irritated. He finally had enough and took off, causing her to quack loudly after him a few times before returning to the reeds. Seems ducks aren't too different from the rest of us.

Here's some other pictures on dA I found, because I don't know what else to talk about and duckies are cute:

Ring-necked Duck. Known for the complete lack of a ringed-neck. It does actually have one, but it can only be seen in the right light, which is almost never.


Northern Shoveler. Pretty ducks with big honkin' beaks.


Hooded Merganser. Aren't they handsome?


Bufflehe... ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12367920/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12367920/ Wed, 28 Mar 2007 19:46:09 PDT

Well, after getting halfway through the first Kingdom Hearts, then having the data get corrupted, then playing almost to the end, and getting my data corrupted AGAIN, I finally gave up and just downloaded all the cutscenes to watch. So here is my prognosis of the first Kingdom Hearts.

Y'know what? This series makes no sense! It never did and it never will! I mean, Disney and Square Enix! My braaaaaain!

Riku's a total idiot. Sorry to girls that like him, but geez, all brawn no brain. Not into those guys at all. XP

Speaking of Riku, where on earth do people get that he was madly in love with Sora?? I thought it was quite obvious that he liked Kairi and was jealous of Sora's relationship with her.

I don't care what you fangirls say, Sora's hair is HIDEOUS! Spikey hair I can tolerate, but hair mimicking an explosion is another matter.

Mickey's voice: IT BURNS!!

Ansem doesn't have enough screen time! Stop possessing that floppy-footed little 15 year old and appear in all your manliness!

...Dang it, it's that thing I have for guys with deep voices and long hair! Oh, why must they all be so evil??

...Did Cloud actually have a point in all of that?

Princesses suck. Where are all the princes?? Lazy bums!

The Kingdom Hearts itself made no sense. Is it light? Is it dark? Is it just some murky shade of gray?? I don't get it!

What the hell was that trailer thing at the end? I assume it's for KH2, but HUH?? It made no sense at all!


Well, that was random. At least the second one seems to have more guys.

~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12316257/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12316257/ Sat, 24 Mar 2007 22:39:26 PDT

Well, if there's one thing that irritates me when I'm crusin' around dA in search of art, it's sudden, horrible, eye-searing yaoi that pops up. Some people just cannot get it through their heads that this is an art site and that their gay porn belongs elsewhere. Actually, ANY porn belongs elsewhere, but yaoi is the most common. But there is hope!

First, though, you must identify the type of ickyness the internet has presented you. One of the main things that differs yaoi from is it's related partner, shounen-ai (sometimes known as 'boy love') is that shounen-ai is just hand-holding, kissy-sappy stuff, while yaoi is full blown oh-my-God-they're-having-sex-please-Lord-make-it-stop kind of stuff. (It's not always sex, though; I kind of classify it as "any action between two males involving one of the guy's dicks." That covers yaoi pretty well.) I don't know if it's more angering or depressing, but it just gives me a little gray rain cloud over my head when I find this stuff (not to mention sears it into my retinas so I have to see it when I close my eyes at night ).

But for those who cringe at the sight, I bring you hope! Behold, the legendary dA Nudity Policy! If you find something particularly barf-inducing, you can break out the Policy Violation stick and slap that sucker down! This part in particular can be used against yaoi:

<>
This means no displays of sexual acts of any kind, no displays of masturbation, erections or sexually oriented toys, no displays of male ejaculates or excess female lubricants and no other pornographic or explicit sexual posing or displays.

That last part is what usually gets the yaoi pics. I should note that I don't actively go seeking out pictures to ban (that would be kind of creepy), but if I find one, I flag it, mainly for the courtesy of others like me who would rather avoid this stuff if possible. So if you come across something that breaks these rules, do the public a favor and GET IT OFF OUR ART SITE!!

Oh, and a note to yaoi fans who DON'T put it in their galleries: Thank you! You have no idea how much more respect I have for you. Thank you for realizing that not all of us love watching guys go at it with each other, and for having the courtesy not to go around calling me a homophobe or a bigot just because my taste in turn-ons differs from yours. Because some people seem to just let it invade their lives, and it's really creepy...

Well, thanks for putting up with my griping. I just really have no idea what to talk about at the moment, and being as I just visited some very disturbing pages, that was on my mind. So please don't hate me! I'm really a nice girl, I swear!



~~I like manga. I like anime. I am a girl. I hate yaoi.~~
~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12166392/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12166392/ Tue, 13 Mar 2007 08:27:01 PDT

Yaaay, spring break is here! Although lot's of people I've talked to say theirs isn't for another week or two. That's annoying, why can't all the schools make it for the same week? But of course, they give you bigger projects over the break, juuust what we need , and of course, I haven't even started. Plus, I need to go out job-hunting, so I can have at least a little bit of money again.

Daylight savings time totally screws me up. What's the point of making things an hour earlier or later, anyway? Oh gee, the sun rises an hour later, who cares? It's big and confusing and I hate it!

...Although I guess not getting dark as fast is kind of nice.

I went birding all day on Sunday, mainly looking for raptors, and saw a record 57 Red-tailed hawks. Fifty-seven in one trip!! Well, I thought it was cool. I also saw 13 Bald Eagles, of which four couples were nesting, so that may be slightly more impressive. Unless you live up north where there's Bald Eagles every which-way, of course. But for Colorado, not too bad.

I've been drawing like crazy lately, which is good, but now I'm stuck with a giant pile of sketches that need inking and coloring... So many things I wanna draw, so little time. Hopefully I'll get to work on them more this week, though.

And now it's that favorite time again, time for another pointless survey! That’s right, another one! I’ve made it my dorky internet goal to collect every single one of these pointless survey time wasters! If I happen upon one on someone’s page, I can’t help but stop and read! (They can really show what a person is like after all, not just by preferences, but simply in the way they speak and answer the questions.) This particular one hails from *Kikoli, who stole it from some other people who stole it from some other people and so on. Ready! Set! GOOOOO!!!

1. What color are your kitchen plates?
Assorted. We have more of a pile of mismatched plates then an actual ‘set.’ Dad’s are white with a blue border, though.

2. What book are you reading now?
Just textbooks.

3. Manga I'm currently reading:
I read many different series at once, but the last one I read was Kaze Hikaru

4. What is on your mouse pad?
Don’t have one. I never use a mouse on my computer, just the track pad. (it’s a laptop)

5. Favorite board game?
Wow, I haven't played a board game in so long. Probably Cranium, although Monopoly gets some points for being able to play as an iron.

6. Favorite smells?
Okay, this is going to sound really weird, but... Zebra Finches. Seriously, if you hold one and just give it a nice, big sniff, they smell soooo good! Oh, and I loooove all the different smells of paper, too. The first thing I do when I open a ne... ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12099891/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12099891/ Wed, 07 Mar 2007 22:42:20 PST

Okay, I keep seeing people doing these 'Kiriban' things, and I'm wondering, just what exactly are they? Sounds like a Japanese word to me, but who knows... Anyway, from what I can tell, it goes that when someone screen-caps your page with a certain number of page views, then they get a free request of their choice or something, right? I've been thinking of doing one, I just... wanna make sure that's what it really means. I'm low on inspiration, but don't want to be taking any request thrown at me, so that's why I'm wondering. So is that right and is this journal totally pointless? ^^';



~~I like manga. I like anime. I am a girl. I hate yaoi.~~

So far, 9 female deviant agrees this is possible,
4 male deviants rejoice in this fact,
2 deviants think I'm completely insane, and
1 deviant couldn't care less
How about you?

How to make links like this
HTML codes fer typin' all cool
How to make awesome CSS journals
(Because no one ever told me how to do all that cool internet stuff when I came, so now I'm telling you, because I'm just cool like that. ) ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12000267/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/12000267/ Wed, 28 Feb 2007 12:46:55 PST

Well, I got tagged by , so it's time for six more weird things about me! I did this once before, but now I don't know which journal I put it in... Oh, it's here if you enjoy reading weird facts about random people. Which I do. So, hajimemashou!

Rules: Put six weird/strange/odd/different facts about yourself, then tag six others. That's all! Man, aren't you glad this is shorter than some of those other ones? Okay, starting:

1. I love these stupid tag things. I have no idea why, they're just pointless time wasters, but... I love pointless time wasters!

2. I have an unusual attraction to shiny things. And brightly colored things. And things that jingle. I'm like a bird. Give me something brightly colored, shiny, and jingly, and I will be entertained for hours. Also applies to anime guys I get crushes on.

3. I have the idea for 4 different novels in my head. Maybe 5, depending on if you count sequals. It drives me insane sometimes. EVERYTHING reminds me of SOME character I've made!

4. I can (and do) dream in anime. Which is weird, because I actually don't have time to watch much of it. Guess I've watched enough, though...

5. Really popular things turn me off. Whether it be bands, movies, people, whatever, if it's super mainstream, I tend to stay away. Whether it be the hype for something, or just the rabid, screaming fangirls, I'd rather not get involved...

6. I am fascinated by angels, and love reading about them in the Bible. Most people depict them so differently that they really are, it's strange. (Although I suppose my chibis up there aren't helping. Darn it, they're just so cute like that, though! ) Most in their true forms don't look anything like humans, and while they are exceedingly beautiful, they can be truly ferocious creatures if they want to be. Depiction of angels in most stories always bug me, so that's another reason I'm writing my own! *hmph*

Well, let's see... I'm supposed to tag six more people... Ah, what the hell, I tag:




I won't make you, of course, but I wanted to tag some people I'd never tagged before, so yeah.

<... ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11913063/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11913063/ Wed, 21 Feb 2007 18:58:20 PST

Like the new look? Well, I hope so, 'cause I worked pretty hard to make it look decent, so we'll be stuck with it for awhile. The two chibis at the top are Dii-chan and Rin-kun, the stars of Kumori Zora no Mukou. (No, you don't have to click the link. But you can! ) For some reason, Rin's wings came out looking much nicer than Dii's, but he has a bunch of white stuff around him of unknown origin. Well, I might fix it later, but it's just gonna hafta work for now. Do they look alright?

Crap, I really need to write more in that... I've been so sidetracked lately and it's driving me nuts. Well, at least I finished this. I really put a lot of effort into those little chibis, so I hope it was worth it.

Hmm... I've been having some weird dreams lately, so I might start writing some more. Or drawing. Whichever one works at the moment, they never seem to work at the same time.

Oh, I need to prove something to my mom that maybe you all can help me with. She wants to watch American Idol. She likes it. She enjoys it. The drama and the warbling teens... She thinks it's FUN! I think it's one of the many things that's slowly whittling away at the foundation of humanity and all good things and happiness in the world. Who's on the right track?

Well, I've gotta go; There's foamy fish stickers to stick on place mats.



~~I like manga. I like anime. I am a girl. I hate yaoi.~~

So far, 3 female deviant agrees this is possible,
2 male deviants rejoice in this fact, and
1 deviant thinks I'm completely insane.
What about you?

How to make links like this
HTML codes fer typin' all cool
How to make awesome CSS journals
(Because no one ever told me how to do all that cool internet stuff when I came, so now I'm telling you, because I'm just cool like that. ) ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11856734/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11856734/ Sat, 17 Feb 2007 15:15:06 PST

*cough*

Hello, and welcome Dii-chan's Journal! Today we'll be talking about something else, ANYTHING else, because I'm such a happy, fun-loving person!

Like the fact that I wrote a GameFAQs guide! Well, it's not done, but I've got the first part finished. It's the script to that Phoenix Wright game I keep playing. Because I'm an obsessive person who must type ever last word that ever appears in that game. I work on it every night before I go to bed. Oh yes. But they haven't posted it yet. I guess they have to review it first or something.

I don't actually dream about it, though, which is odd, because I normally dream about anything I come in contact with, which lead to this morning's wacky escapades of alien condo spaceships, flowers that emit a disgusting purple smoke, spindly but descturctive giant robots, treking across vast highways in search of a swimming pool, and me nearly getting blown out an airlock. When I woke up, I was exhausted. Although I did get to stop and read a book about my friend's wacky family reunion adventures somewhere in the middle of that. And considered ordering Yakitori.

I need to finish a paper on alcohol advertising for English, but everyone keeps telling me I'm too subjective. And the dreaded 'biased.' Yeah? Well, I'm biased against YOUR FACE!! Sorry, I just get mad when people get all pissy 'cause I have a 'point of view.' Oops, sorry for not being a mindless ZOMBIE then!

Oh, I'm also too sarcastic.

No! Bad! I said this wouldn't be depressing! That's right! Haaaappy thoughts!

Blah... So tired...



~~I like manga. I like anime. I am a girl. I hate yaoi.~~

So far, 1 female deviant agrees this is possible,
2 male deviants rejoice in this fact, and
1 deviant thinks I'm completely insane.
What about you?

How to make links like this
HTML codes fer typin' all cool
How to make awesome CSS journals
(Because no one ever told me how to do all that cool internet stuff when I came, so now I'm telling you, because I'm just cool like that. ) ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11813978/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11813978/ Thu, 15 Feb 2007 20:13:20 PST SAPPY RANTY LOVE JOURNAL AHEAD! Turn back NOW if you hate such things!



...Still here? Okay then. Any GUYS still here? 'Cause if there are, I wanna ask you something. When a girl get's 'clingy,' that's really unattractive, right? Sort of like, "Whoa, get a life!" I dunno. It's just weird. Love is such a sophisicated thing, and at the same time, such an animalistic thing. I've never had a boyfriend my whole sorry life, and I've never had a guy I like like me back. The one time a guy DID like me, I didn't like him, and he was MAAAAJOR clingy. Scared the hell out of me, and I don't want to do that to someone else.

Still... Being shy and hiding in the shadows never gets anyone anywhere, so I've decided that if I like a guy, I'm just gonna go up and talk to him! Plop my stuff down next to him and take a seat! I just wanna scream, "I LIKE YOU! DO YOU LIKE ME? 'CAUSE IF YOU DON'T, YOU SHOULD TELL ME RIGHT NOW BEFORE I DO SOMETHING STUPID LIKE SPONTANIOUSLY HUG YOUUUU!!

Holy crap, I don't know what I'm talking about. It's just I'm sort of... um... picky about guys. Too picky for my own good, probably. So now that I've found one that fits the general standards, I have no idea what to do with myself. All of a sudden, I'm over-analizing every little thing that happens. I get home and laugh at myself over the dorky things I think, like, "OMG, did our arms just touch!?!?" or "Why's he looking over there? What's over there? Am I missing something??" GAAH! Someone knock some sense into meee!

But the worst part is the jealousy part. The part of me that want's to grab him and run off into a corner, then growl at any other females that walk by. No guy would want a girl like that. The part that goes, "Why'd you compliment HER hair!? It's spiked straight up and striped pink! Does my hair look like that to you!?" The fact that she made her friends wait (clique girl, y'see) until he came down... What does that mean? Maybe he doesn't like her, but maybe he doesn't like any of us... Of course, I have no idea what kind of girls he likes. I'm the only girl in the class without short/died hair, and the only one who would actually pick up something pink. For all I know, I may be the only girl without a tatoo (or at least the only girl who isn't planning on getting one) Maybe he likes those kind of girls? Oh my God, I'm the only blonde girl in the class! What if he doesn't like blonde girls!?

Oddly enough, the first time I saw him, I though, "Wow, he's hot. No chance at all." I'm always afraid I'm bugging him. I know he's really busy, he goes to school full time and works, and he has a pretty big friend's circle from what I can tell. Would I just get in the way?

Ha ha! I'm 18 and I've never felt this way before! Well, that oughta at least tell you I'm not a scanky tramp. I'm really shy, actually. *sigh* Okay, had to get that out of the way. I promise I won't do that again. This journal probably really sucks, huh? Oh... I have homework to do...

-------------

Congratulations! I've been rejected! He moved some other guys stuff and put it next to me so he could sit with the clique girls. I told him I had something to give him, and to... ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11733491/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11733491/ Thu, 08 Feb 2007 10:28:11 PST
1. Do you give the peace sign a lot?
Not a lot, but occasionally.

2. How many Abercrombie things do you own?
None, unless it was used from Goodwill and I didn't even notice.

3. When was the last time you kissed someone?
I kissed Hoshi the Starling last night, does she count?

4. Can you do a cartwheel?
No way. Never could, never will.

5. Are you depressed?
Only when the hormones are out to get me, and I recognize them now.

6. Last time you cried & why?
A couple months ago, when I was watching some baby birds in the aviary where my mom works. They were just so sweet...

7. Do you regret something you did yesterday?
Yesterday...? What did I even do yesterday?

8. Are you allergic to anything?
Oh crap, yes. Pollen, grass, cats, dogs, pretty much anything with fur, really, some types of fruit, and anything classified as a 'nut.' Except coconuts.

9. Have you ever been tubing?
Tubing as in sliding around on inflatable donut-shaped things, or YouTubing? Both, on occasion.

10. Has school started yet?
Yes, and this is what I'm doing instead of homework. What? I'll get to it...

11. Do you own a guitar?
No, but my dad has two. I still haven't figured out why...

12. Have you ever rode in an ambulance?
NO!! KEEP THEM AWAY FROM ME!!

14. Who do you hate?
Those crazy bumper sticker people.

15. Crayons or markers?
They've both turned against me... Or maybe that's 'cause I just buy the cheep ones.

16. What age do you wish you were?
I'm good as I am. I'm sure I'll wish it would stop soon, though.

17. Do you shower facing the shower head or with your back to it?
Actually, I try to wash ALL my body, so I kind of switch around, you know?

18. Do you have anything in your pockets right now?
Most of the pockets on my pants are too tiny to be of any real use.

19. What is the closest object to your right?
Food on the table, boxes of who-knows-what on the ground, then wall.

There would be a question 20 here, but whoever made this forgot it, and I'm not gonna bother to fix it.

21. How many windows are up on your computer?
Two, both on dA.

22. Do you share your computer with anyone?
NO! *hugs and growls*

23. What kind of cell phone do you have?
Blue Sanyo Katana. Ha ha, I got it 'cause it's Japanese.

24. What color are the walls in your room?
Half is white, the other half is light blue splotched.

25. Are you wearing socks?
No. I don't like wearing socks, but no shoes. It's either all or none.

26. How many hours did you sleep last night?
Probably around 9. I would have gotten up sooner if it weren't for this dream I was having...

27. Did you ever get the chicken pox?
Yep. So you can't infect me!

28. Have you been outside your house today?
Not yet. But I will this afternoon. I must have my lazy mornings, though.

29. What is the last movie you saw in theaters?
I honestly don't r... ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11648030/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11648030/ Sat, 10 Feb 2007 16:49:35 PST Legend of Zelda games ever and HAVEN'T seen the infamous cartoon of the same name, then you haven't LIVED!! I'd seen a few episodes a while ago, but then I totally forgot about them. Then I remembered the magic power of YouTube. Thank you, internet!

They originally aired sometime in 1989 and whoo boy, it shows. Get ready to enter a Zelda universe unlike any other (and for good reason)! Come to a time and place where Link has brown hair, Zelda wears pants, Link doesn't wear pants, the Triforce talks, fairies are even more annoying than Navi, Ganon is the most pathetic excuse for an evil genius ever, swords shoot pink lasers that make "Beep! Boop!" noises, everything is refered to as "Magic ____", and Link is a total lecherous jerk who's only goal in life is to bang the princess.

And let's not forget such catchy lines as:
"Excuuuuse me, Princess!"
"Whoa, toasty!" and
"Uh oh! Boneheads!"

Here's episode 1 to get you started. Have fun! And make sure and tell me if you spot anymore crap-tastic lines I can add to my list.

UPDATE: Ladies and gentlemen, I now present the entire collection on DVD. In fact, I've already bought it. I'm just that crazy.

Oh wow, I'm totally going to have to deconstruct every episode of this. Stay tuned! Or not...



How to make links
HTML codes
How to make colored journals
(Because no one ever told me how to do all that cool internet stuff when I came, so now I'm telling you.) ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11592016/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11592016/ Sat, 27 Jan 2007 19:49:19 PST James Lileks, I present this week's wacky videos:

Want the Jolly Green Giant to haunt your nightmares for weeks? No? Well too bad.

Quite possibly the most uncool rapper in the history of the universe.

Hate American Idol? Now you can hate German Idol too!

Not actually a video, but interesting nontheless. Think your pet is smart? This bird kicks it's ass.

In other news, I just got the sequal for Phoenix Wright: Ace Atorney, so I'll be wasting some time on that this week. I've already finished the first case, and the guy who turned out to be the criminal was absolutely FLLLLLAMING! Wow, what a dork.

...I hope nobody slashes him and Phoenix. I went searching for some fanart and was bombarded with yaoi. I guess I was asking for it searching for anime-related art, but GEEZ! One of these days it'd be nice to search for something without being forced to wade through all the man-on-man action to get to what I want.

But anyway, if you have a DS and don't have this game, then what are you waiting for?? Go buy it!!



How to make links
HTML codes
How to make colored journals
(Because no one ever told me how to do all that cool internet stuff when I came, so now I'm telling you.) ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11540777/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11540777/ Tue, 23 Jan 2007 11:38:50 PST
In random news, I presented my paper for the Master birder class, and I have no idea what anyone thought of it. It was about the ancient bird Archaeopteryx and why it's not a transitional fossil. Uh huh. It's only been a week since my english class started and I've already written two papers for it! Ha! I don't know why, but I find this amusing. I guess it's a good thing I like writing. In fact, this one time, I wrote an entire essay on a paper place-mat about place-mats. Yeah, I'm kind of weird.

You'd think if I could do that I could easily write a story, but life has a way of being weird like that. A couple nights ago, I was all ready to write this great scene when something got in my eye and scratched my eyelid, making it impossible to stare at the screen until morning, at which time I had other things to do. Blah.

I'm trying to make a character sheet for all my various characters so I can have them all in one place for reference. I've been too lazy busy to ink them, though. *sigh* I keep drawing new stuff, and then not doing anything with it. NO! I MUST SUBMIT SOMETHING! IT MAKES ME FEEL SLIGHTLY USEFUL! WELL, NOT REALLY USEFUL, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN! I'M NOT SURE WHY I'M TALKING IN CAPS, BUT I AM!

Okay, I'll be quieter. You know what, maybe I should go draw something. That'll make me feel better.



How to make links
HTML codes
How to make colored journals
(Because no one ever told me how to do all that cool internet stuff when I came, so now I'm telling you.) ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11459835/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11459835/ Tue, 16 Jan 2007 12:31:06 PST

I still need to finish my report for my Master Birder class, so I thought I'd print some article off the internet to take some notes off of. The paper jams on the second page and the printer starts screeching. See mom? That's why I don't use your printer.

Although some rush to finish, I'm taking my time in completing Twilight Princess, mainly due to the fact that I found the fishing mini-game and enjoy watching Link's expression when he catches yet another old boot. And I just might be the only person who enjoys virtual bird watching in Zelda games. I am currently trying to identify as many species as I can and give them names. I am contemplating making a field guide. I am completely insane.

Right now, I'm stuck with all these sketches and line-arts that I just haven't had the motivation to color, and I'm wondering If I should just submit them anyway, for the sake of submitting something. I can always scrap 'em later, anyway. Oh, so many things to do, but I don't really wanna do any of them. Ugh...

I'll probably feel better once I go to class and get it over with. Hopefully, I'll have a nice teacher who won't automatically hate me on site like some do. I still haven't figured that one out.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

How to make links
HTML codes
How to make colored journals
(Because no one ever told me how to do all that cool internet stuff when I cam, so now I'm telling you.)

Now collecting stamps:
http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11413184/ Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:34:11 PST It'd be interesting if we knew what the percentages of it all was. XX% photography, XX% manga/anime, XX% disturbing Kingdom Hearts yaoi fanart... you get the point. Hmm... Makes you wonder.

Although I keep meaning to, I've never caught a certain number on someone's page before, but I did catch this:



Yeah, it's 'and one' but that was the best I could do. You know how skippy that deviation counter is. But anyway, to mark the occasion, I have... Nothing! Sorry, I'm useless. I keep wanting to submit stuff, but that pesky Zelda game keeps getting in my way. Oh God... That game is WAY too fun. Seriously, don't wait for the Wiis to come back in stock to play it, just buy the GameCube version, you won't have to get used to any weird new controllers to play it, anyway.

I'll probably devote an entire journal entry later to the little intricacies of the game, but I won't bother you now. Just... go back to what you were doing. Don't mind me. Move along, now.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

How to make links like this one
HTML codes
How to make colored journals
(Because I was sick of people doing fancy internet things without telling me how.)

Now collecting stamps:
]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11307376/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11307376/ Wed, 03 Jan 2007 22:06:57 PST

Look, I even made a little anime quiz thing! Come on, play along! Share the anime love! Steal it for yourself and pass it on to your anime loving friends! (not recommended for non-anime fans, they'd just get grumpy.) So what the hell, here goes nothing!

What was the first anime you ever saw?

Hmm... Probably Sailor Moon, almost every female anime fan has watched it at some point. Have any guys actually watched it, I wonder? It's just so... sugary.

What show first really got you into anime?

The Slayers, and it's still my favorite anime of all time. Ahh... the memories...

How many anime series do you own?

Let's see... *counts* 22. Oh dear.

Do you own any plushies?

Just two, Kirby and Lina Inverse.

Do you watch your anime dubbed or in original Japanese?

DUH!! Original Japanese, all the way!! Sometimes I'll watch the dub just to see how well done it is, though. If I'm bored. And really like the series.

Do you subscribe to any anime magazines?

Not right now, but I want to subscribe to Anime Insider. I do get Shojo Beat, but that's more of a manga magazine.

What's the most you've ever spent on a box set?

$120. That was insane. I really hated myself when I found it at another store for $24. Now, I'll never spend more than $50 for a box set.

Who's your favorite seiyuu (voice actor/actress)?

Koyasu Takehito, Seki Toshihiko, Midorikawa Hikaru, Megumi Hayashibara. They all sing good, too!

Now the fun part: Who are your picks for the top 10 sexiest boys/girls (<--take your pick) in anime? (can also include anime-styled video game characters)

Hee hee! In alphabetical order because I can't pick.

Aya Fujimiya (Weiss Kreuz)
Balmung (.hack)
Kain Blueriver (Lost Universe)
Kamui (X)
Kilik (Soul Calibur)
Link (The Legend of Zelda)
Rezo (The Slayers)
Sigfried (Soul Calibur)
Watari (Yami no Matsuei)
Zelgadis (The Slayers)

---

See look? I just make that thing up off the top of my head! And I have no idea why! Sure, there's better things to do... But I don't really care right now, do I?

You can do it if you want, too. Heck, I might even start something! Or make your own anime questions! Or totally ignore me and my crazed anime ramblings! I really don't care!!

Now collecting stamps:
~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11266722/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11266722/ Sun, 31 Dec 2006 22:55:03 PST I resolve to keep drawing and writing to improve my skills, and to keep writing my dream journal! Let's hope 2007 will be a 'lucky seven' year!

Um, okay, I'm gonna sleep, now.

Now collecting stamps:
]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11248413/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11248413/ Sat, 30 Dec 2006 17:53:16 PST this CSS page and tried some stuff out. Nothing too fancy, but my journal should at least have some color now. I dunno, I sure hope I did it all right! I had to read what each thing was for, like, three times before I got it, and that color table was confusing me. So many codes... X_X But I think I've got it. Maybe...

I'm drawing some chibis to put in the header, but they're not done yet, I'm afraid. Chibis are harder than they look, that's for sure.

In other news, it snowed again yesterday, another foot or so, just to make sure everything was good and buried. Which meant another day stuck in the house, slowly going insane. Global warming my ass, it's snowed more this month than it has the last few winters! But let's not talk about global warming, I may get aggressive.

Huh, I guess New Year's Eve is tomorrow. That came awfully fast. Well, at least this year didn't suck too badly for me. Let's hope the next one won't totally suck either! So, what's everybody doin' for the big night? ...I have no plans at all. I wish there were some parties nearby or something. Maybe I'll just go over to a friend's house and play video games 'till midnight. Video games always keep me going!

Amazingly enough, I actually managed to keep my New Year's resolution I made way back in January: To keep a dream journal. I highly recommend it, it's very fun! Unless you have really boring dreams or something, but my subconscious adventures are the basis for most of my novels, so it's nice to write 'em down to remember. I started totaling the results, and it's very interesting to see the trends and reoccurring elements. Maybe when I finish, I should total it!

And now, just to see if it works, here's a picture of my birdies and me. Hoshi the Starling on the left, and Itsy and Bitsy are on my arm. Aren't they cuuuute? ... I think I look sort of drunk here, though.



Oh great, now there's another picture of me on here! I'll have to update this soon... Wait, why the hell is this a link?? I didn't do it!!

Now collecting stamps:
~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11231572/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11231572/ Fri, 29 Dec 2006 08:13:39 PST it better dang be worth it, that's what!

So I consulted the FAQ to find out how to do some stuff, but I'm not sure if I understand all of it yet. As far as I can tell, this is how you post thumbnails:

^Look, it's Alantra! Or at least it's supposed to be!

And to link to a picture that's not on dA, then... I have no idea! Nor do I have anything to even link to! I guess I should get a Photobucket acount or something...

At least I think I've figured out the html type thing (even though I hate it). It should go something like this:
< i > is italics
< b > is bold
< u > is underline
< sub > is _subscript
< sup > is ^superscript
< strike > is striked out
And then to end it.
Did I get it? Just trying things out, here.

But wait! What's this 'header' thing for?? How do I put stuff in it?? Or this 'footer' thing for that matter! It's confusing me!

And most importantly... How do you make the colored backgrounds? I'm sick of this gray! I couldn't find it in the FAQ, though...

So if any of you fancy subcriber people could help me out, it would be very much appreciated.

]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11162921/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11162921/ Sat, 23 Dec 2006 13:49:03 PST But I finally got all my presents wrapped yesterday, so that felt good. I love giving presents to people, and it's even nicer now that I can do it without mooching off my parents. Well... in the sense that the presents are really from me now, instead of just 'Something Dii-chan picked out for you.' Now it's 90% from me! (my mom still bought a few things. )

Maybe I'm not too much of a grinch, though. I did manage to sing in church today, something I've never done. Felt like I was gonna throw up on stage, but I managed to warble through it, and everone said they loved it and wanted me to sing again, so I must not have sucked too badly!

Know what? I love that little 'Jolly' mood emote, it's just so perfect. The little guy's hopping away with his little santa hat, but yet he looks kind of confused and stressed. He's enjoying the festivities, but he's not quite sure what's going on. I love that.

Since I am a big present giver, I thought I should at least give you something Christmas-y, so here's my little gift to everyone: Learn how to sing "Silent Night" in Japanese!

First, a little bitty lesson on how to pronounce Japanese:
'a' is pronounced 'ah' as in "Father."
'i' is pronouced 'ee' as in "ski"
'u' is pronounced 'oo' as in "food"
'e' is pronounced 'eh' as in "bet"
'o' is pronounced 'oh' as in "old"

'g' is always like the 'g' in "get"
'tsu' is like the end of the word "cats"

See? That wasn't that hard, right? Now let's sing!

(note: the - means you hold that syllable for another note, as in "Si-lent night")

Kiyoshi Kono Yoru

Ki-yoshi kono yoru
Hoshi wa hikari
Sukui- no mi-ko wa
Mihaha- no mu-ne ni
Nemuri- tamou
Yu-me ya-suku


Merii Kurisumasu, minna!

]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11131614/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11131614/ Wed, 20 Dec 2006 19:22:57 PST Or more accurately, I hate blizzards. Bad enough we're getting absolutely dumped on here, but why does it have to be blowing around everywhere at high speeds!? I can't even see out the damn windows here! We could be underground for all I can tell! How am I supposed to get my shopping done now!? Well... at least it's almost finished... Just a few more little things to pick up at Bath & Body Works and that should be it.

I keep trying to color something or write, but it just doesn't work. I'm stuck here and I can't even do something productive, what the hell is wrong with me!? Useless!

I have a headache... My stomach hurts... My allergies are terrible today... I have a bird on my head...

I just finished the coolest book this morning and now I want more to read. I have other books, sure, but they aren't on the same topic... I tried watching some anime, but I felt too lazy sitting in front of the TV. I don't like watching much TV anyway.

Dammit, I just have to force myself to draw something! But I just get so irritated if it starts looking wrong. They say origami is calming, so I thought I'd do that, then quickly realized how impossible that was with Hoshi out of her cage. She already shook apart three of the ornaments I made, anyway. Right now she's being good, but if I try anything...

But what to draw?? I just don't know what I'm in the mood to do. I sort of feel like drawing someone evil... Maybe I should draw something to go along to that song I wrote the other day... I always get the strangest inspiration when I'm spending time in Ye Olde Bathroom. Dunno where it comes from. The girl I want to draw, though. I can't decide whether her name should be Elena or Ilena. Which one do you think sounds better? She's blonde and ditzy, by the way.

Oh... now my feet hurt... I've been sitting on them all day.

And I'm rambling, aren't I? Ugh... I just have to do SOMETHING, even if this is still boring. Say, anyone ever microwaved beef for 8 seconds and had it catch on fire? Boy, that was sure puzzling. Scared the hell out of me, I'm just trying to heat up some food for my bird, and it goes WHOOOSH with this huge flame in the microwave and makes the room smell all burnt and smoky for awhile. ...Should I only do it for 5 seconds?

Oh, whatever. I don't know what I'll do.

]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11114617/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11114617/ Tue, 19 Dec 2006 09:26:25 PST

I just don't get Christmas. How can it be so wonderful and so terrible at the same time?? I'm mean, who doesn't like Christmas? Presents for all! I mean, you gotta love a holiday that promises 'Free stuff for YOOOOU!' ...But then there's the nightmare of actually getting those presents. I don't even wanna go near the mall this year. At least I got my Costco shopping over with yesterday.

Some shopping is fun, though. When you find that perfect present for someone, it feels so good. :3 And then there's those people who you have no idea what do get. I demand mandatory wish lists from everyone, unless you're already easy to shop for!

It's not like I have very good memories of Christmas either. My dad had a heart attack right before Christmas once, my mom was sick in bed all of last Christmas, and there's always that fun Christmas Eve when I almost got killed! And even when there's not a bunch of sick people, I'm always the youngest, so it's not exactly a ball for me to sit around while everyone sits around drinking wine and talking about how messed up the world is. Although now that I've grown up, I guess I can sort of agree. -_-;

On a random note, my mom bought a new curling iron the other day, and it came with a mysterious warning label that read, Caution - This product can burn eyes. X_O;?? As opposed to any other part of your body?? It already has a "Warning - Burn hazard" label, why do we need one that specifies eyes? If someone has actually burned their eyes with this, then they probably shouldn't be living around normal people anyway.

*sigh* Okay, I've ran out of things to talk about. Ja ne.

]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11020676/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/11020676/ Sun, 10 Dec 2006 18:02:21 PST I write whatever scene I feel like writing at the time, but since I'm putting it up where people can actually read it, I figured you'd probably want it in order. That would be very confusing, otherwise. So I'll try to write as much in order as I can, but be warned, I'm slow, and there's always the dreaded 'writer's block of DOOM' that comes sometimes. But I'm trying, I swear!

Oh, but about the actual story itself; I realized after I submitted those first two parts that I haven't actually told anyone (besides the people I've already yaked to about it and are probably sick of it) what the story is about. So I now present the 'official' synopsis of the story, the little thing that would appear on the back cover or the front flap if this was an actual, physical book. Right, then! Iku wayo!

Kumori Zora no Mukou (Beyond the Cloudy Sky)

Long, long ago, before this universe was created, before time began, there was a revolt in heaven lead by Lucifer, the most powerful of angels. There was a great war, and in the end, 1/3 of the angels left heaven, including the ten most powerful. Although the loss of angels was great, The Lord only created ten new ones, in the image of the ten greatest he had lost. They were to represent and protect the new world He was to create. They were Fire, Time, Thunder, Earth, Water, Wind, Truth, Gravity, Light, and Love. However, so great were powers of the ten Angels of Life, that they were sealed away, only to awaken when they were needed, and return to sleep when they were done. Now, once again they’ve been summoned, born into the world and raised as humans. God has tasked the angel Yume with finding and training them for the battles ahead. There’s only one problem:

They’re all teenagers.

And when you throw five female and five male hormone-fueled semi-adults into a house and force them to live and train together with the task of saving the world, it's bound to become a huge, wacky mess. Especially when everyone has secrets that they themselves might not even know about...

***

And there you have it! Now you can know what you're getting into! So yep, that's my story. It also has a sequel, an indirect sequel, and a spin-off story. HELP! IT'S CONSUMING MY BRAIN!!

Oh yes, one more thing: I'm working right now on drawing and coloring a picture that shows headshots of all the characters, just so you can get an idea of what they look like. I try to explain it, but pictures are better, ne?

]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10960495/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10960495/ Tue, 05 Dec 2006 13:16:53 PST
Name : Rebecca
Name Backwards : Acceber (<-- Sounds like a guys name)
Were you named after anyone? : Rebecca of the Bible.
Does your name mean anything? : According to 'Behind the Name.com': "From the Hebrew name ??????? (Rivqah), possibly meaning "a snare" in Hebrew, or perhaps derived from an Aramaic name. This was the name of the wife of Isaac and the mother of Esau and Jacob in the Old Testament." A snare? That sounds kind of devious.
Nick Name(s) : D/Dee/Dii (however you spell it it's pronounced the same way), Becca (hates), Becky (hates x10) Reeb, mother still calls me, "pumpkin"
Screen Name(s) : Always D-chan or Dii-chan. I'm not very creative when it comes to screen names.
Date Of Birth : October 10, 1988
Place of Birth : Porter Hospital, Denver Colorado (and I haven't moved much since)
Nationality : American (ancestory: German, Danish, Norweigen, Scottish, Welsh, and who knows what other stuff)
Current Location : Condo in Littleton, near Chatfield Lake.
Sign : Libra
Religion : Seventh Day Adventist (don't worry, we're not nearly as crazy anymore )
Height : 5'1"
Weight : 105 or something like that. Kind of depends on how recently I ate or used the bathroom, y'know?
Shoe Size : 6 1/2
Hair colour : Blonde, hair underneath is darker since it doesn't get much sun
Eye colour : Light green. Sometimes sort of teal colored.
What do you look like? : People tell me I like like a mermaid a lot.
Innie or Outie? : Innie
Righty, Lefty, ambidextrous : Righty, although there are some things I only do with my left hand.
Gay, Straight, Bi, or Other? : Straight as a metal beam on a brand-new building.
Best friend(s) : Patricia, Rosanna, H
Best friend you trust the most : I trust all my friends!
Best friends {your sex} : Trisha, Zanna
Best friends of the opposite sex : H is my only guy friend...
Best Bud(s) : I love all my internet buddies!
Boyfriend / Girlfriend : No...
Crush : Too many anime boys to be healthy.
Parent(s) : Jeanette and Don Duerksen (but they're divorced)
Worst Enemy : All things YAOI!
Favorite on-line Guys(s):
Favorite on-line Girl(s):
My two non-internet gal pals are here too, though:
Funniest friend : H. He's hilari... ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10923217/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10923217/ Sat, 02 Dec 2006 09:37:39 PST My birdies, that is. My many, many, too many to healthy birdies. My mom works at an assisted living place, and they have an aviary there, right? Well, the pair of Zebra finches there were raising some chicks (which is pretty much all zebra finches do anyway), but for some reason or another, the female died. So the male was stuck raising them on his own, which... doesn't usually work. So I'm raising them! And right now, they're at their cutest, fuzziest stage! Aww, they're so cute it hurts! I'll probably put a picture up at some point.

And another adorable thing: Hoshi's learning how to talk! Awww! She's only seven months old, so she's not perfect yet, but just yesterday I heard her clearly say, "Kiss kiss!" SHE SAID SOMETHING!! :exited: So far, she knows how to say, "Kiss kiss, gimme a kiss?" then make kissing noises, and, "Hoshi!" She can also sing like a male Zebra finch (since the house is packed with them ) and make a crude rendering of the phone. Doesn't sound quite right yet, but you can tell that's what she's getting at. At the rate she's going, she'll be saying, "Snot!" and "You're mean!" before long, since that's what I yell at her when she's pecking me.

Oh that's right, I have another one of those tag things to do! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!! But that's okay, this one looks fun. Here are the copied and pasted rules:

Rules: The 1st player of this "game" starts with the topic "6 weird habits/things about yourself" and people who get tagged need to write a journal about their 6 weird habits/things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next 6 (or as many as you know XD) people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "you are tagged" in their devpage comments and tell them to read yours.

Well, here we go. Six weird things about Dii-chan:

1. As you've probably noticed from this journal entry and all the bird pictures in my favorites gallery, I'm COMPLETELY OBSESSED with birds! I currently live with 14 Zebra Finches (all with different names and personalities, but I'll spare you the explanations), and one European Starling, Hoshi. I also have a part time job at a store that sells birding stuff, like feeders, seed, birdhouses, field guides, binos, and lots of little bird related gifts. Not to mention I'm in a class to become a 'Master Birder.' See? Just a little obsessed.

2. I have hair that comes down to my mid-thighs. I'm actually not entirely sure how it got to be that long, I just decided when I was about 7 that I wanted to grow my hair out, and I never really bothered to let it stop. I trim it so it doesn't get all gross, but other than that, it just keeps on growing. I'm sure I'll cut it someday, but for now... Why not? Not many people have their hair like that anymore.

3. I love sorting things. I have no idea why, but you can put me to word sorting the most mundane things and I'll be happy. All my manga and anime is sorted alphabetically, and my closet is sorted by colors. Despite this however, I'm still a rather messy person.

4. I don't like sweet stuff. I mean, a little bit is okay, but more than that is just... bleh! I don't like cake. I don't like ice cream. I don't like pie. I don't like candy. I don't like milk chocolate, only dark. I like cookie... ]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10859961/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10859961/ Thu, 30 Nov 2006 23:00:06 PST I dunno, but everything is taking forever to load for me.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about! Since I've commented on two other people's journals who have already done this, I guess I'd better do it too. Here's how it works: All you have to is be one of the first five people to comment here, and I'll go pick three of my favorite deviations of yours and post 'em up here. (normally it was ten but I'm not popular enough to expect that many X_X) Alas, I don't have one of those fancy subscriptions, so I can't post thumbnails, but I'll link to them nonetheless! Oh, but here's the catch: If you comment... YOU have to do it too! Unless you've already done it, in which case I guess you're exempt.

You don't have to say anything particularly interesting, just a random 'SNEE!' works for me!

***

Aaaand now for the results! Crap, it's so hard to only pick three! Everbody's art is so PURDY! But I know everyone probably has better things to do then look at the entire gallaries of some random people I've posted. Another reason why I changed it from 10 deviants to 5. 15 deviations is much easier to handle than 30, ne? But if you like what you see, of course... *nudge nudge*

By
kiri - [link]
Azuki at night - [link]
CHARACTER PREVIEW COMPLETED - [link] (<--W00t, animation!)

By
.: out of reasons:. - [link]
.:Song Bird:. - [link]
Shima Redone - [link]

By
The Count of Gankutsuou - [link]
Guardian Unit 01 - [link]
The Lance of Soryu - [link]

By
Broken Angel - [link]
top-hat - [link]
.:kaizoku:. - [link]

By :EzraBladerunner:
Two sides of the same smile - [link]
Asylum Suit Costume-Front - [link]
Kagato Jurai - Tenchi Universe - [link]

And there you have it! And as bonus points to all you awesome artists, I'll even leave 'em up for a few more journal posts, how's that sound?

]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10831197/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10831197/ Fri, 24 Nov 2006 13:22:06 PST

***

I'm back. Ugh... That was crazy. I'm just glad I didn't have to work the register. Sooo many people had coupons and with all the extra sales going on... Nyaah! I don't wanna deal with that! I had to be in the front of the store, greeting everyone and forcing bags upon them, asking what they needed, and all that crap. The manager said that "Is there anything you're looking for?" isn't a good enough question. It's not 'open ended' enough. So instead I have to ask, "What can I help you find today? Mleh. I dunno, that just seem pushier to me, but I'm not one to argue, even though the vast majority of people said, "Oh, just browsing."

"Well did I tell you about today's sales? Just in case you didn't see all the signs out front and the one I'm standing right next to!" You'd be surprised at how many people have no idea you can get a free Eau de Toilette with any $30 purchase when I'm standing right next to the display.

It's weird how different the people are. Some just bound in with a group of friends, ask for a bag before I can even ask them, then skip along on their merry little way. Others skulk in all alone with shify eyes, arn't looking for anything, don't need a bag that size, and sneak off. Weird.

The worst part wasn't the cold or the constant standing or the customers, though. It was the music. Oh God, the music! I swear, they had one 'modern' Christmas CD on shuffle or something, which meant that every 15 minutes, Santa Baby came on again. I HATE that song! Santa is NOT sexy! He's a fat old man with a big bushy beard! And then there was this whole other song that went, "Stay a little longer Santa, oh won't you please?" These songs only give me the image of a middle-aged saggy woman in Christmas lingerie trying to seduce an uninterested Santa in her living room.

: "Lady, I don't like chicks dressed up as half naked versions of myself. I'm busy, okay? And I know you have a husband, so don't even bother."

Oh well. At least I survived.

]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10809382/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10809382/ Wed, 22 Nov 2006 09:27:13 PST

The store had a meeting last Sunday to talk about it. We all got two double-sided cards telling us what our responsibilities will be for each 'zone' of the store just for that one day. There's already red arrows taped to the floor to tell everyone where to line up. With little instructions on where the line breaks into two. The store even opens two hours earlier for those 'early bird shoppers.' Oh, and I get to be there at opening. And my shift might be extended longer. And I just HAD go mention to the manager how much I liked working the register. NOOO! DON'T MAKE ME WORK THE REGISTER THAT DAY!! THE SCARY PEOPLE ARE GONNA KILL ME IF I GO TOO SLOW!! I'VE ONLY WORKED TWO DAYS, PLEASE!! DON'T KILL ME!!

*cough* Well, in other words, please be kind to the new kids when you go out on your Friday shopping bananza. We really have no clue what we're doing.

]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10747121/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10747121/ Thu, 16 Nov 2006 16:08:02 PST
But the Flip-take is different. Now when the new and unexpected (or stupid) information comes along, the other person completely looses control of themselves, trips and falls, or in some cases, even goes shooting off into the air.

Yes, that's right, I'm talking about that thing that happens in so many anime and manga. And why on Earth am I talking about this, you ask? Why, because I've discovered it's source! Flip-takes can be EDUCATIONAL!

The Flip-take appears to have originated around 1920 in American newspapers. It seems to have lasted into the 90's in Peanuts, but has now fallen out of favor in American papers. But it sure caught on in the anime world! So I now present one of the best examples of early Flip-take comics: Jerry on the Job [link] There's an introduction first, then click 'Next' to start the comics.

See? A little piece of anime history! If you've got some time, I recommend looking around the rest of the site. James Lileks totally rocks!

]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10700086/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10700086/ Sun, 12 Nov 2006 11:14:41 PST No, we had to go today, when it's freezing and snowing. I bundled up as much as I could and I still couldn't feel my fingers and half of my feet.

And then... My mom locked the keys in the car. She double checked that it was unlocked, and then as soon as she closed the door, the damn thing auto-locked itself. We called a locksmith, but the lady was totally unhelpful. She asked us what the nearest crossroad was and what the zip code was. How the hell am I supposed to know the zip code!? And we're in a state park, there's no crossroads around here! Isn't 'the east entrance parking lot by the marina' good enough for you!? Geez!

An hour and a half later (standing outside in the snow, i should note), a guy finally comes, and it's $125 to get back in the frakin' car. Well, at least the guy was nice...

When we finally got home, my mom looked in the mirror and shrieked. I ran downstairs to see what was wrong, and she said:

"THIS is what this hat looks like!? I wore this all morning in front of everyone!?"

"Well, yeah..."

"Why didn't you tell me it looked this bad!?"

"I thought you knew, but didn't care 'cuz it was comfy or something."

"No! I had no idea!"

"Really? I just assumed you were okay with your head looking like it was growing weeds and mold."

Then we both burst out laughing. Because let's face it: That was a REALLY ugly hat. Someone had given it to her as a gift, I guess. I just can't believe she didn't notice how ugly it was before she put it on.

]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10677982/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10677982/ Fri, 10 Nov 2006 09:35:50 PST
Test sentence 1, typed directly into the box:
?????????????

Test sentence 2, copied and pasted from AppleWorks:
?????????????

Test sentence 3, same as above, but with different font and size:
?????????????

And now to hit 'Add' and see if any of them survived...

...

None! Why!?!? I got it to work once, why won't it now!?!?

Alrighty then, how about this?
?????????????

And this!
?????????????

????????
?????????????

?????????????

]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10614487/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10614487/ Sat, 04 Nov 2006 13:43:04 PST
Not that anyone cares, but the topics I'm debating over are:

Starlings - Much Cooler Than You Think
The Truth Behind Archaeopteryx

And... nobody knows what I'm talking about. Okay, the first one is about Starlings, those speckle-y black birds you see by the hundreds on utility wires near stop-lights and digging though fast food garbage dumps. Here's a picture if you're not sure: [link] Yeah, those things. Betcha never gave 'em a second thought, huh? Well, they're actually very interesting, intelligent birds. And also widely hated throughout the word as pests. And... they are pests. But they're INTERESTING pests!

The second one is about the mysterious 'creature' Archaeopteryx (pronounced ar-key-op-ter-ix, i believe) an ancient extinct bird that is widely touted to be the missing link between the evolution of dinosaurs to birds. (artist's impression here: [link]) Except recent studies have shown that it's not. However, this information is not widely known, and I'd like to shed light on the real truth behind Archaeopteryx. This paper would also include some of "Dii-chan's 139 reasons why evolution is a huge steaming pile of poo," but I won't go into that here.

Oh, which to write?? They're both so fascinating! They'll both get me booed out of class and booted from the Audubon Society! (they'd be loosing out though, since my mom and i are two of their best volunteers)

My sinister side has been taking over and wanting to do Archaeopteryx lately though, because one of the ladies who RUNS the class is doing a paper entitled "Birds are Dinosaurs" and my paper disputes this fact. Just think... The youngest person in the class by a good 15 years beats one of the teachers at their own game... Ooh... I like the sound of that!

]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10570493/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10570493/ Tue, 31 Oct 2006 12:09:56 PST It feels like my head is halfway filled with water that makes me off balanced and want to fall over asleep, but yet I'm all tensed up and wired, too. It feels really weird. And my brain -- Will not -- SHUT UP!!! I'm sorry, but if I don't write something, I am going to implode into tiny particles of insanity.

So I start thinking about all this random stuff, and then questioning all this random stuff, and then arguing with myself about all this random stuff. I mean, is random even a good thing? But random isn't really a thing at all, so how can it be good or bad? But I like random stuff, but then again lot's of people hate it when someone's 'random,' so how am I supposed to feel about all this? My friends and I have always liked random, so -- AAAAAAAGH!!! I'M GOING INSANE, HERE!!!

And have you noticed how extreme the world is? I mean, it's just crazy how split in two everyone is, and how you can have such extremeness going on at the exact same time for all these different things! Let's take sex for an example: On one side you have all the "Free Love" people who could care less about a meaningful relationship, who just wanna go fuck whoever the hell they want to at any time and who the hell are you for telling them otherwise? And then on the other side you have the "ZOMG, SEX!?!?" people who shield their children from ever damn boob in the country, and you better not even THINK about having sex until your married and plan on having children. It just makes me feel like, "Oh my GOD, people! Isn't their a middle ground, here?"

And since it's voting season, the fangs come out even more. Everywhere you go, you get bombarded with "VOTE FOR AMENDMENT C!!!" and the people in your birding class suddenly going all liberal on you, yaking on about how evil the Bush administration is and how senator so-and-so promised funds for all this environmental bullshit. I DON'T CARE!! I CAME HERE TO LEARN ABOUT IDENTIFYING BIRDS, NOT TO HEAR ABOUT THE CHATFIELD LAKE WATER LEVELS!!!

This world is just so damn confusing sometimes. Everywhere I go, I see, "Be true to yourself!" or "Be proud of who you are!" and "Just be your ing little self, dammit!" But try going somewhere and expressing your opinions. Ha! Then it just turns into, "Why the hell would you think like that?" and "You're so close-minded!" What-- the-- HELL!?

And you! You stupid chick in my magazine! Stop assuming everyone who reads the mag is exactly like you! When you start talking about how much you love taunting conservatives and how wrong they are about "us REAL women," you kind of kill my mood, you know? I thought you wanted to appeal to a wide range of audiences! What, do I have to be a democratic bisexual San Fransisc-ite just to SUBSCRIBE anymore?? Geez! Oh, and you, that other chick from that article with the extremely annoying name of Rebecca: Maybe in your wacky neck of the woods, you haven't met "any straight girl who doesn't love gay porn," but I don't, so stop assuming we all love it with you! M'kay?

Ughh... Sorry about that, but y'know... Sometimes you just gotta rant.

]]> ~Dii-chan http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10496007/ http://Dii-chan.deviantart.com/journal/10496007/ Tue, 24 Oct 2006 14:45:07 PDT I've never had a job before! I have no idea what's gonna happen! But at least I'm working in a fun store. No one wants to work with the grumpy teens at McDonalds. So I'm glad for that. And hey, I'm making above minimum wage too, so that's good. Finally, I'll have slightly more money than usual!

***

Okay, I just got back. Mostly just browsed the store to become more familiar with the products and watched those cheesy instructional videos. My favorite scene: The safety dude instructs us on how to properly use a ladder. Because we obviously wouldn't know how to do that.

But boy, if you can't find a scent you like at Bath & Body Works, then you must not have a sense of smell at all. And once you find one you like, there's around 6 different types of lotion for it.

But you can try them all! Or at the very least, smell them. Yay for hands on! They wanted us to try out a whole bunch of them, but after three layers of hand creme, I gave up and returned to just sniffing.

Well, enough of that. I wanted to ask some random questions to whoever happens to be reading this, so if you've got a sec, please complete this extremely random survey!

Do you like lotion/shower gel that smells like food? (like berry scented things or dessert scented things) I'm not sure whether I like it or not...

Do you think I should draw more fanart, or more original characters?

Do you find it childishly amusing that there's a sector of Japan called Kinki? (note: this fact becomes 5 times more awesome if you like Yami no Matsuei)

Yaoi. Why the hell is this shit so damn popular?

Can you read (or at least view) this, or does it just show up as a bunch of gobledeegook?: ????????????????????????????????

]]> ~Dii-chan