Friday, June 25, 2004

This is bad. This is really bad. According to the graph, we've already downloaded 30G worth of stuff and a little over 2G of upload. According to the numbers in the table, we've standing at 19G for download and 3G for upload. If they go by the first account, we might be toast. If they go by the second account, we're safe. Heard this morning that they're having problem with their server; some ppl have spyware installed on them, some experience slower speed. I am getting a slower speed, but I'm contributing it to the use of BT. I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope everything works out for the month.

On a side note, I sold a demo phone but forgot to get the customer to fill out the extended warranty form that comes with the demo sale. *bangs head on table* Hope he doesn't come back with the phone in two years...

Thursday, June 24, 2004

剛剛被十二國記2的遊戲 trailer 煞到﹐害我既 GPM 以後又多了一個無法消除的怨念 -__-

現在我連家裡那台 GameBoy 都找不到了說﹐非逼我用模擬器不可嗎﹖
MyWay is going to do the same thing and upgrade the email to 125MB, huh? Didn't expect them to be affected by the Gmail Effect. XD

I'm almost tempted to check every single email account I've applied for so far so see who else is doing it, but seeing how I haven't logged into some of them for a looooooong time, they've probably deleted my account(s) already. Besides, I can't remember my user name and password for some of them now.
Yup, it's official now. New Type has suffered a brain damage and needs to be formatted.

It shouldn't be too hard to get it into Coordinator and transfer the data out. what to install afterwards. The overly abused copy is out of the question, and I don't suppose it'll let me activate the XP Pro I bought with Coordinator. Plus, I'm kinda weary of XP now. I want 2000 Pro, but that might be an unattainable daydream... -__-

On the other hand, I replugged the cables inside Coordinator on n-san's advice. Hope that'll solve the problem of the unexplainable mystery of self-reboots.

Yeah yeah, I'll get to the assignments. I have to. But that's not for me to worry about for today. I'll do that after I wake up tomorrow.

PS. The computer is noticeably slower when BT is on. This could be problematic in the future...

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

This habit of 'pre-viewing' the episodes after download is really bad, I know. But even with the truncated minutes of viewing, I am often moved to tears. Like that time when Nicol's music sheet fell out from his locker. Like that time when Toboe took the shot for the old man and fell. Like this time when Sango cried after hearing how Kohaku saved the people. This is also why I like these shows so much,
I knew it. I shouldn't have imported the settings so rashly. It took me a failed login on ff.net to find out my Firefox is broken. In the end, I had to uninstall and reinstall Firefox and configure everything from scratch, including the extensions. Luckily, it didn't take very long as I had written down the list of extensions before hand.

I'll have to run to a couple of different places to add in the cookie and adblock settings, but otherwise everything is fine now. The lesson for the day? Disable all extensions before uninstalling the old version. I learned it the hard way. -__-

On a side note, Mozilla ported beautifully without any problem. Nice lizard. *pat Mozilla on head* ^__^

Monday, June 21, 2004

大変ですね、これや。でも、したかないでしだ。

...嘘。-__-

選択がありましだ、が、わたしは馬鹿だ。間に合わなかった、いつも怠惰だから。-________-

来週やります、必ず。

Saturday, June 19, 2004

満足、満足!Can you see the slight(?) bulge in my midsection? It's full of food. Yummy food. ^Q^

I couldn't help out with the preparation and the booth tending due to the stupid papers、残念でしだ。ほんとうに、ご苦労さまでしだ、皆さん!楽しかだ。

I'm glad that friend A had a good time. ^__^

Time to get back to the dreaded task. Yeah, I know it'd be much better if I didn't procrastinate and wait until the last minute...

Friday, June 18, 2004

なるほど、orz = O| ̄|_ か?︶_︶

で、我是要查為什麼我的電腦會莫明其妙地自己重開機、怎麼會查出這種東西... orz

果然還是必須在留言版上求救嗎? _| ̄|O (還是覺得'全身版'比較可愛)
Chrno Crusade ep.24

It's obvious from where the plot was going, but I wish they could show more of their last time together. This is, after all, a crusade Chrno goes through before and after meeting Rosette. Comparing from the last episode, this is really anti-climatic. Most of the episode is spend with Reminton's thoughts and pondering, and the foretelling of disasters took up another big chunk, which is a real shame because those took away the focus from the pair. I can't say I am not disappointed, but I did expect it. It's sad, if you ask me, that I've come to expect inferior endings in the anime version of their manga counters.

It is extremely difficult to conclude a series with a good ending. I guess I just want them to go on forever. Parting is always so hard. When watching any show or reading any story, I often find myself eager to know what happens next but dread the moment when the end would come. This, I suppose, is human nature,
Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot... Why is it so stupidly hot today??? And me taking the wrong route didn't help at all. *kick self for not taking the highway instead*

But the trip to S's family condo in downtown was fun. My loot of the day: A Gundam mini-figure collection pack with candies. Of course, the price was a total rip-off (I paid $3.99 where it's marked 150 yen on the package), but I was too tempted. Curiosity kills the puppy. But I am satisfied (I know I am a fool). So, out of the possible 16 different figures, I got a Zaku III! Now, I know nothing about the original Gundam and anything following the UC time line, but I am happy with it. Looks really good. I'll get a snap shot of it when I get a digital camera! ^__^ (which might read: never)

Thursday, June 17, 2004

Gundam SEED ep.26-30.

Even though I haven't touched it for this many months later and already sort of knew what happened, I still couldn't help but be moved by the intensity of the emotions and the torrent of sadness and desperation. Sure, the amount of recycled materials in ep.26, 27, and other short scenes are annoying, but if you ignore this fact and the sometimes almost unbearable art, it is still the same series I fell for when it started airing in 2002. The characters, the interactions, and the plot are what's really keeping me hooked from the very beginning. I really miss the discussion on Gundam.com with fellow fans. I should had saved the posts. T__T

I'm going to borrow the VCD after I finish the fansubs. Then I'll decide whether to buy the DVD or not.

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

これはこれは、Yahoo is putting up a counter measure to Gmail, huh? XD

Streamline interface, 100MB of storage space, message up to 10MB. I had to chuckle when I logged in just a minute ago.

さて、I wonder what hotmail is going to do? ^__^+ Or have they already moved? Either case, I wouldn't know and don't really care. Just curious, that's all. XP

PS. Just checked my Yahoo! Japan account. Still 6MB. The 100MB option seems to be for VIP account only on Yahoo.com.tw. やばり、they're targeting the English users because of Gmail, huh?

Monday, June 14, 2004

I am officially spooked now. The unidentified self-restart problem is starting to get on my nerves, not to mention the temporary 'fix' I did after a little bit of search gives me no virtual memory to launch PhotoShop. I hope this is only a Windows glitch. If it's not... Well, I'm doomed. Hardware problem is the worst kind. And you don't know when it would bite it. -___- *go off to post on the forum for help and possible light*

Sunday, June 13, 2004

SAMURAI DEEPER KYO 完食。

24話幸村事件真相大白跟26話最後夏之陣果然熱血。雖然跟織田信長打的那一段實在畫得醜到不行、不過還是看得很高興、音樂也配得很棒。

京四郎跟狂最後一戰到底是誰留下來呢?I think it's both. This is not only logical (judging from the plot itself), but there are other evidences to support my view. 他叫她ゆや、而且聲音跟口氣介於兩人之間。再者、雖然歷史沒有回到應該的路線﹐但是並沒有很大的差別;1615年的夏之陣從大阪變成了江戶、對手從德川家康變成了德川秀忠、誰會是此陣的贏家呢?

不論如何、SDK 已經正式地佔據一角了。動畫已然如此、漫畫想必更有看頭吧。雖然沒有超級豪華聲優陣容(要比聲優的話、SDK 絕對跟種鋼及十二國記一起排在前五名)、但是更深入的角色描寫跟互動會是漫畫的優勢。翻譯的、翻快點啊~~~
The collab report is submitted! That's one burden off this poor fragile shoulder! ^__^

Of course, we can't forget the 3 TTA's due within the week. But I can finally spend some 'quality' time with New Type (or, rather, trying to fix it) tomorrow after service. Hopefully I'll be able to get it working before the day's over. I really don't want to have to remove the HD and install it as a slave drive under Coordinator in order to get the stuff out so I can format it...

Saturday, June 12, 2004

DVD Wish List:

Wolf's Rain x 10 (region 1 or 3)
Juuni Kokuki x 16 (region 3)
Mugen no Ryvius x 6 (region 1 or 3)

Of course, I want the box for Wolf's Rain and Ryvius.

And yes, I am fully aware of the cost of all those. That's why they are in a wish list and not on my shelf.

I'm getting GunParade March DVD vol.6 on Sunday! That would complete my very first anime series in DVD's! ^__^
Mononoke Hime? That doesn't count as an anime series. It's a movie.

What about New Type and the collab report, you ask? Let's not think about those now. XP
I'll deal with them after tending to my growling stomach.

Friday, June 11, 2004

Things aren't looking up right now. New Type is still in need of some good spanking (or, rather, Windows needs it) after two hours of sweat and frustration. Since it seemed like the same problem as before, I went ahead to try to resolve the problem with the same method... Only to find that the situation is a lot worse than I anticipated.

Stupid me should had try fixing it with the files I left in the tmp folder when I performed the trick last time in October. Did I think of it? Yes, after I overwrote the files with the ones from repair. *kick self in the head* Anyhow, it's just a few more steps for me. Well, little did I know. All Hell broke loose when I got into Windows with the repair setting.

Why is there an error message with one minute countdown to shut down??!!(ノ`Д´)ノ~~┴───┴

I am positive the computer isn't infected with the stupid worm when I restarted it. Though, it did happen once before, but I thought I fixed it 'cause that was the only time it ever occurred. Is it really the worm?? Anyway, once the error window pops up, I'm not able to copy the files from the RP folder, and I'll have to sit through another restart for another chance. It's definitely a race against time.

Surely there were a few times when I succeeded? Of course. The first three times. Did the annoying countdown window pop up afterwards? I don't know. The truth is, I couldn't get into Windows because it told me the evaluation period ended. _| ̄|O

Yes, this happened before as well. I was able to go back to a point where it didn't ask me to activate it. But with the countdown coming out so fast every time, I haven't beaten it yet. And I don't even know if it'll still be there after the restoration... -__-

I am so going to format and reinstall everything!! =___=###

Provided I can get in and get my stuff out first, that is. Keh, I will definitely come out victorious. Just you wait!

Thursday, June 10, 2004

Of course, everything just have to be done on the same day. *sarcastic snort*

What else is in store for today? First off, there's the Windows restoration (who knows how long that'll take?) Then the shipping fee problem and the announcement to be made on 5B2F Web site. Then I'll have to finish and post my actuary section and catch up with the rest. Maybe I'll need to do a bit of incorporation as well, depending on how much is available now. Then there's the discussion tonight.

Thank goodness I don't need to work tomorrow. I've been really deprived of sleep this past week. Though, I'll admit, the fault lies in me mostly.

Now that the rant is over... 負けないわ!行くぞ!
New Type is trapped in an endless waltz of self-reboot. Again. _| ̄|O

bro's experiment with the Chinese input thing did it. I knew I'd have to do quite a bit of cleaning after he left, but I didn't expect this. Although I have no solid evidence that it's really the same problem as the one that occurred ages before, the symptoms seem identical enough. I'll need to dig out the CD and try to go back to another restore point. If I still remember how to do it, that is. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Wednesday, June 09, 2004

Man, haven't seen a Flash movie this funny in a long time~! Final Fantasy A+ is a definite must see for all FF fans!! XD

And I can post at AnimeX.Com again!! Kudos to LoneWolf and isolation man for making it possible!! ^__^

Bro left for airport an hour and a half ago for Taiwan. Guess he'll be missing in action for the next couple of months to one year. he gets to go back...
哼、搞了半天、原來沒有人知道這次 collab 到底在問什麼、那篇文章也沒人懂、星期天就要交、大丈夫かな?-___-
Calgary lost. >__<

But that's ok. You guys did a good job, fighting all the way there from the 6th place in the western conference. You did it this year, and you can do it again. まだ来年頑張ね、フレームスよ!

Monday, June 07, 2004

AHHHHHHHHHH!!!! >O<

The cat vomited on my bed!

The last time he tried to do that, I managed to remove him from the bed and dropped him on the floor in time. Luck was not on my side this morning as I only had less than 2 seconds from the time I woke up to him finishing the deed. But I suppose it could have been worse. At least only the bed sheet and the mattress were affected. Oh, and one claw of my Beany crab. My bed is extremely crowded with sheets and plushies. We survived the event with a minimal damage. For that, I am grateful.

PS. No, I didn't punish the cat. It's not his fault. We haven't been feeding him the hair removal gel for way too long.

Sunday, June 06, 2004

お、あれ星矢の声じゃないのか? Didn't think I'd hear him in 神風怪盗ジャンヌ。^__^

聽得出來的聲優加入一名~

The short list of recognisables by ear:
石田彰
桑島法子
関智一
山口勝平
関俊彦
緒方恵美 (男声)
朴路美 (男声)
保志総一郎
堀江由衣
久川綾
林原めぐみ
緑川光
梅津秀行
子安武人
三木真一郎
小西克幸
鈴村健一
雪野五月
置鮎龍太郎
遠近孝一
高木渉
森久保祥太郎
松本保典
草尾毅
三石琴乃
白鳥哲
古谷徹

Saturday, June 05, 2004

The Last Samurai

The hypes about the film were not overrated. Of course, Tom Cruise's name was what I heard first, but since I'm not really a fan of any star, it could have been anyone. But the theme of samurai was what really caught my attention. Anyhow, I suggested the title without knowing anything about it.

Epic. 壮大。熱い。すごい。感動です。Those are some of the words that come to mind. 侍どか武士どか、よくしりません。けど、この映画お見るあとて、ちょっとわかります。I can understand why L-san said he's definitely buying the DVD. I was almost tempted as well. Maybe I will, a few years down the road. Hero もね。

Friday, June 04, 2004

Another hot day, another fruitless shift. Yup, my very first ESP-less week. I'll probably get a few talks next week, though I seemed to answer most of the objection questions correctly.

I'll also have to be more careful about transfers in the future. Wouldn't wanna get written up,
It's gotta be the with lots of MST... The first thing I did after coming back from the beach was bolt into the bathroom. Even now, my stomach is still very unsettled and is pushing me to go again.

The green tea with jasmine ice cream cone was good though. Not my usual liking of Japanese green tea style, but it's good.

And because of this very upset stomach.... ごめん!I'll be online for sure tomorrow for the group discussion!! >__<

Time to pay another visit to the bathroom...!! X__X

Thursday, June 03, 2004

Man, is it hot!! ^__^;;;;;;;;; (can you see the sweat drops?) The little clock/alarm/thermo thing on my desk says it's 26.8℃, and I'm sure I smelled something burnt when I entered the room...

Ok, I better get at least one ESP tomorrow or I'll stand at zero for the week. That would be very bad, especially considering the others have been selling them and I did have a few opportunities.

ま、そろそろ時間だ。Time to get ready to leave for the beach!! XD I'm not a fan of the sea (No, I'm not hydrophobic. Not yet), but I like the wind.

Wednesday, June 02, 2004

Gee, that was yet another scare. (I'm getting quite a few of these lately, aren't I?)

This morning when I got up, both PCs were off but the laptop was on. Coordinator was still on when I went to bed around 4am! まさか it's the infamous worm/virus thing that shuts down the computer within so many seconds??

Luckily, bro confirmed that there was a blackout for a split second early this morning, and the laptop was fine because it has a battery. (Of course! Why didn't I think of that? -__-)

Then New Type got that age-old pink blob problem again. That's fine, since there're a couple ways to fix this. Then it gave me a minute before shutting down due to a remote procedure call service thing. According to my search on Google, it's the Blaster worm. That freaked me out. Why did New Type contract the worm now when it was fine when the hype was highest?

Anyway, the pink blob thing came back again when the worm shut down the system so I had to reboot. While I waited, I used Coordinator to look for the patch and told bro about the situation when he dropped by. He then told me that Mum's already using the computer for a while now.

.......好樣的、你剛才是在耍我嗎?-__-#

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

This is insane... W32.Spybot.Worm??

I think I got it out now (after some frantic struggle) and am keeping my fingers crossed. How did it get in here in the first place? I'm not using Kazaa or mIRC. Did I get it through Xnews? I shouldn't think so. I'm also having doubts about the anti-virus software. AVG doesn't catch everything, and Norton doesn't update/scan regularly enough.

Somehow I'm having more problems with the legal copy of XP Pro than with the beta copy. If I didn't already have a lot of stuff in here and paid big bucks for it, I'd be very tempted to switch back. -__-
哼... This is what you get for not thinking ahead and changing your mind half way. I had to go through the whole blog (thankfully I had neglected it for a long period of time) and retype all the non-English characters to fit the Unicode encoding now.

So what if I can't remember what I wrote before? I tried as best I could to write something similar from my memory, and I just made something up otherwise. I think I was pretty close anyway...
This is frustrating. I finally decided to try the photo blogging thing and even created a new blog for that. Guess what happened after I installed and logged in with Hello? I kept getting a 500 internal error!! Apparently, I am not the only one. The online help forum is full of people like me. I hope they fix the problem soon! Better yet, add support for Mozilla and Mozilla Firefox! XP

A note on the supper... Why is the 'meat-maru' vegetarian???? (ノ`Д´)ノ~~┴───┴

Monday, May 31, 2004

After a lengthy trial period, I've finally settled on the current colours -- closer to the originally proposed 'Athrun theme' XP
Cirque du Soleil!

I probably missed some great acts, but what I saw still amazed me. The four white pajama guys are hilarious, and the two red nose clowns are funny both together and alone. The diabolos seem very impressive, though I know it's easily (OK, maybe not that easily) doable by many. All in all, that was a good show. It probably would be a lot more impressive seeing it in person, but you can see it more clearly on TV. Besides, the ticket ain't cheap. XP

Sunday, May 30, 2004

Matantei Loki Ragnarok 完食!

What can I say? It's not a bad anime. The art is lush, elaborate, and colourful, and the cast is very good. Most of the characters are Norse deities, but they are just like humans, except they have supernatural power. This is also the series where I discovered Park Romi, who has since become one of my favourite . Oh, Morikubo Shotaro (Thor/Narugami), too. As for coupledom, I suppose I like the Loki (adult) x Mayura OR Kotaro x Mayura pairings.

Saturday, May 29, 2004

It sure scared me big time this morning when the lights on the modem flashed and there was no connection. I thought they finally decided to cut our service. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed, though, seeing how I did grab quite a bit of stuff (Argento Soma alone accounted for almost 5G). Hopefully we'll manage to keep the connection, and people don't post large files of series I want. (Again, though, tough luck. Someone seems to be posting Juuni Kokuki in OGM format with both the Japanese and English tracks...)

Calgary beats Tampa Bay, 3 - 0! Can you see the sea of red pour out into the streets from the stadium and cars honking all the way? I can. ^__^

Friday, May 28, 2004

Ahh~ Haven't sold a computer system in some time now; it's no wonder I'm still a little giddy now, 30 mins after the sell.

The couple originally dropped in to compare price for a particular HP model after checking around in FutureShop. Turned out we don't carry that model. After finding out what it's gonna be used for and for whom, I suggested another model. Then they said they just want a normal monitor, but I changed their mind. They ended up getting a 17" LCD (the husband wanted a 19" but wife said no) to go with the computer. On top of that, there're the surge protector, the wireless PCI card, and a 3-yr warranty on the PC.

Though all my effort went in vain as the scanner turned off itself from idleness. I scanned the isles twice already! Gotta do it again next week...-__-

And now that I think of it, we forgot about speakers. Oops. ^__^;;

Thursday, May 27, 2004

*plays MP3 from AIR OST*

bro: "Is this from some anime?"

me: "No. It's from a game. I've never played it. It's one of those so-called games."

bro: "Oh. No wonder the music doesn't sound like the style of the games you usually play. You know, Gundam or Final Fantasy."

me: "...."

What? -__-#
Argos no Senshi !

I used to play this game on the Red-White NES over a decade ago. It's still great fun to play, though I remember it being longer and more difficult. *shrug* Hey, I was using emulator, after all. XP

Wednesday, May 26, 2004

OK, something's definitely very wrong here. There is no reason why the computer should suddenly restart itself without any warning like this, and it's not the first time!

To be frank, the new system is all nice and wonderful, but the little quirks are starting to set doubts in me: only the front speakers work because the sound card is on-board while I asked for a Sound Blaster sound card; the CD drive makes very strange noises when it reads discs; the computer suddenly restarts without warning (I have a growing suspicion that the CD drive might be at fault here? The incidents occurred today both happened when I tried to read the content of some CDs... )

Is it time to get it to be checked already?

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

It's dead, ya hear me? Dead! I didn't sell anything at all today, and we were just sort of walking around towards the end. *sigh* This is bad for business. Though I was kinda 'grateful' for the close to null traffic in the parking lot because I didn't lock the back door of my car...

Ah! So that's what Pandemonium means! I thought it's the boss demon or something... ^__^;; So, instead of trying to type in kanji, I'll just use pandemonium from now on! XD

BTW, the soap opera part of the Feng Yun tape was most amusing. Too bad Ding Ning failed. I like her better than Chu Chu. XP

Sunday, May 23, 2004

, Argento Soma turns out to be quite a series, after all. I'm still not planning to burn it or buy it though. Yukimura! I knew he wouldn't betray Sasuke and the others like that! ^__^

On the other hand, it seems that I'll have to wait a bit longer before getting the ones I really want, since it's cheaper when all the DVDs come out. . I'll wait until all the Wolf's Rain DVDs are out; maybe by then Mugen no Ryvius will also be out? I have enough on CD right now to last me till next year anyhow. XP

Saturday, May 22, 2004

Finally finished with the catch-ups! That was very tiring, and I had to rack my brain to remember the happenings. Now that Coordinator is in my room, hopefully I'll be able to post everyday on schedule (fat chance).

Yes, the new system is now sitting beside and on my desk in my room, thanks to all those time and effort I put into clearing up the space and re-organising my belongings. The only complaints I have are the non-adjustable height of my wooden chair and the silent rear speakers. What good are they if they don't sound?? Better ask Peter about them tomorrow.
Everyone told me different things, but it was good that everything was resolved in the end, though not without much frustration on both the customer's and my part. CrossExchange, huh? Nice. I'll keep that in mind. :)

Ah, prayer meetings that I haven't been attending much, how I miss you! The short translation session on Israel history and Kings was interesting, but, alas, nothing beats the praying and the praise and worship after that.

I probably should had ride with someone else instead of going over to Way's with bro, but who would had thought it would take him one hour?? The cookie was good though, and the race part of the 2nd Black Stallion movie was still blood pumping as always.

On a last note, NEVER try to mix warmed milk with Napoleon ice cream. Very bad. The leftovers Mum brought back were good, though. Mended my stomach problem somewhat. XP

Friday, May 21, 2004

So it's a peace offering, huh? Whatever the motive, the all-you-can-eat at Topgun was very fulfilling.

After supper, I set out on a mission in acquiring the much needed surge protector and maybe an anime DVD or two, depending on what's out there. On brother's request, I picked up his copying order while grabbing the mission item... $173.76??! You ordered a job for that sum of money?!?!

On the other hand, it seems that even FutureShop's stock on anime is shrinking. Don't tell me I'll have to get all my DVDs from Taiwan now? There's that stupid region code thing, ya know! >__<

Thursday, May 20, 2004

I knew it. The nuke was only covered, not disarmed.

It started about noon after a brief pre-war missiles. The battlefield was eerily quiet when one side retreated elsewhere. Then it recommenced with full force just when we were about to leave. Luckily, like the previous ones, I was not the main target and managed to escape with few scratches.

Another truce, but how long will this one last?

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Sweet! Samurai Deeper Kyo manga! I've always wanted to read those after learning that the manga is a lot more in-depth than the anime version (this is true for almost all manga-turned anime, ?) but never got a chance to. At last! My curiosity fulfilled (somewhat)! XD

Only read the first volume so far, no Yukimura, Sasuke, or Benitora yet. The art isn't as good as the anime (not to mention that the characters look too young for their experience and age) and there is no excellent seiyuu to give characters life and back the story up, but the slightly different scenarios and variations are nice. Looking forward to the next volume!

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Another short shift, another few hours to kill. This time Guildford was the choice of location, partly because I needed food and didn't want the usual junk.

A couple pleasant surprises. First off, Mr. Sub with Greek bread and pineapple is great! Though the price isn't as sweet. Second, Gundam SEED graphic novel vol.1 and the small calendar sheet with CLAMP's Tsubasa art! Though Athrun is drawn way too femininely and it's basically the same thing as the anime. Third, Cat World Encyclopedia @ 19.99 +tax! Though I'd like a dog one a lot more.

Monday, May 17, 2004

Had a short but pleasant talk with Pastor Priscilla after the service. Other than the usual what I'm doing these days, she invited me to join the choir. Truthfully, I would much prefer being away from people's eyes. I would even call myself a backstage person. I don't like to be praised. I'd feel awkward. Anyway, I replied that I'd need to think about it and see how my schedule turns out. Not much chance of me joining, though, from the looks of it. *shrug* We'll see.

Sunday, May 16, 2004

Was it luck or misfortune? Just when I made up my mind to go to the CAYAC meeting, Mum issued the order to mow the lawn. Well, I know I was supposed to do that yesterday but didn't, but I only have two shifts next week. Can't I just do it sometimes next week? The gas price would probably be lower, too.

Alas, it's no use arguing so I ended up mowing the lawn instead of going. And everyone phoned in to ask why I didn't go... That'd teach you the importance of doing things when they're due.

Saturday, May 15, 2004

After all this time, Gokusen still moves me greatly.

I'm talking about the drama series, of course. The original manga series isn't bad (well, the art is bad..), but it just doesn't have the same excitement and feel as the drama version. The anime version is even worse. The only highlights of that version are Suzumura Kenichi (Sawada Shin) and Konishi Katsuyuki (Shinohara-sensei), and they don't even get to speak much.

The new LCD monitor looks very beautiful, but because of the high resolution, everything looks much smaller than they used to be. .

Friday, May 14, 2004

Ooh, I didn't know there's a new computer store in Guildford. Though I admit, it looks very small and empty...

On another note, London Drugs' , why is it that you gave me an answer that differs from that from our consultants? I'll have to go with our guys on this one, since there is quite a bit of difference in the prices. I'll check out that new computer store some other day and make my decision.

Thursday, May 13, 2004

...What is this messed up schedule? I was the only one after 4:30?? Luckily, Russ was nice enough to stay an hour late to give me two breaks. Luckily it was dead, unlike the other day.

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Who would have thought setting up a new system would be this troublesome? After the basic Windows settings and the security and anti-virus stuff, the download and installation frenzy started.

Mozilla, Firefox, winamp, flash, java, real player, quicktime, acrobat reader, ACD see, regseek, adaware, NJ Star, winzip, winrar, xnews, icq, icq plus, and of course, the necessary audio/video decoder package.

Then each needed to be configured individually. It took me a whole day! It's nice and comforting to have all these working on the computer, though. Definitely worth the time and effort.

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

It was only a four-hour shift, but to avoid getting lectured, I had to stay out late, just like when I used to skip school. Pathetic, if you ask me.

The library had once again become my refuge, especially now that I had nowhere else to go. It was a rather fruitful expedition, though. Got a few game and PC magazines, and that CSS book I've taken out so many times but never even read one page of. Oh, and I paid a $3 fine.

Monday, May 10, 2004

Happy Mother's Day!

...was what I wanted to say, but the civil war continued from the week before, and the atmosphere was tense at best. Things seemed to look up during service though, and they seemed to be making up.

It turned out to be one big illusion. After the family prayer, the truce was over and the two were back at it. Aren't I glad that I'm working a full shift tomorrow...

Sunday, May 09, 2004

Oooh! My very first virus extermination!

After some frustration at not able to connect online, I was able to figure out what went wrong. Once the driver for the on-board NIC was installed and the computer restarted, I went to download and install Zone Alarm right away. During the process of downloading and installing other necessities like anti-virus and Windows patches, many programs asked for permission to go online. When the security software were all in place, I checked the list of programs and started removing the installers and such. Two caught my attention as I've never seen them before, appearing to be Windows update files. Of course, not having to use legitimate XP Pro before, I didn't realise it at first. But it alerted me when they kept asking for permission right after I removed them from the list. To my surprise, a quick search on Google revealed them to be viruses.

After much struggles and frustration, I was finally able to remove the two of them with the help of AVG and PC-cillin's housecall online scan. I also learned that neither was able to detect both. Of course, I didn't think of it sooner before removing them. I never got to learn whether Norton could find both.

Anyway, it was fun and challenging (though many people would probably see it as a piece of cake) while it lasted. I didn't really care because I had just installed Windows and could easily reinstall it if need be. It would prove to be a major problem if similar incidents take place in the future. Here's hoping, and keeping my fingers crossed.

Saturday, May 08, 2004

Ah, the joy of installing Windows... and re-installing Windows...

How do you partition the hard drive?? T__T I had to reformat the whole thing and reinstall Windows just because I screwed up at the attempt to partition it. In the end, I kept the 120 G as one drive. I'll figure something out in the future if I remember.

The more immediate problems being... Why am I not connected to the Internet? Isn't that the LAN port? Why isn't it connecting? And why does the screen look so terrible?? Isn't LCD suppose to look great? Did I waste all that money on the video card? Should I had gone with a CRT instead?

Gotta post the paper draft first. I'll leave those for tomorrow... -___-

Friday, May 07, 2004

Is that what I think it is? ?! I'm actually seeing them hanged on a laundry rope beside the road?! I know it's technically in the backyard, but you live right next to the street, man!

We planned a surprise for Lisa during cell group for her birthday. Nothing special, but the mousse cakes were delicious. I especially liked the green tea (I'm a sucker for almost anything green tea) and the mango flavoured ones. ^Q^

Thursday, May 06, 2004

How is "Coordinator" for a name? XP

No, I'm not obsessed with Gundam SEED. I'm simply following the naming convention. The previous PC was named New Type because it was much faster and superior than its predecessor, which was named Prototype when the hard drive was installed in the PC as a slave drive. So, since the new system is even better than New Type, I thought Coordinator might be a good choice. In a sense, the new system will lead the way, just like how the term "coordinator" came to being in SEED.

Of course, I'm keeping this to myself. I don't suppose anyone else would find the name meaningful. They'd either roll their eyes and snort in disdain, or give me a very strange look. Provided they know where I'm getting this name from. Anyway, it's Coordinator now. XD

Wednesday, May 05, 2004

The new computer system has arrived! ーー(°∀°)ーー

But I'm missing the keyboard and the mouse, and I have yet to clear up the space for it in my room, so they'd have to stay in the boxes in the den for now.

And I've gone back to NES once again. Not wanting to having to try to figure out where I was and how my party was doing, I opted to start anew. Not DQ3, of course. It's DQ4. If I remember it right, I only got as far as the martial arts competition part in chapter three. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish the whole game this time. :)

Tuesday, May 04, 2004

Calgary advances to the Western Conference Final after defeating Detroit in the overtime! ーー(°∀°)ーー

Though, what impresses me the most is how united their fans are. One glance over the stadium was all I needed. Over 80% of them were wearing the red Calgary jerseys, and 10% of them wore other types of clothing with the Calgary signs. It was truly a red sea of people!

I'm not really a big Calgary fan, but since Vancouver's out, they're the next best choice. I *always* root for the Canadian teams. I want Calgary to win the Stanley Cup this year! >▽<

They seem to be doing well with overtimes this year, winning the series with both Vancouver and Detroit in the overtime. Go all the way, Calgary! I'll be watching! :)

And Jugi is a sore loser, giving up watching after Detroit lost. XP

Sunday, May 02, 2004

吁~ That was quite a scare. I thought they really cut our Internet. O﹏O

Luckily (?), I was able to access the Internet after re-plugging the cables. But who knows when they'd be true to their words and cut it for real? Gotta remain a low profile for now... -__-

On another note, it's been waaaaaay too long since I last done any translation or update of the 5B2F site. Gotta finish those today before another hectic week takes over.
???!!!! It's 30 GB, not 3 GB??!! ( д ) ゚ ゚

No wonder we get these warnings.. I really have to cut down on my downloads, don't I? Oh well, lesson number one: self-discipline... -__-

Saturday, May 01, 2004

Last day for filing income tax!!

The whole ordeal started out with quite a frenzy as I failed to locate one of my T4 slips. Thankfully, I was able to find the letter buried under the pile of stuff on the desk. ^__^;;

It took me about half an hour to key in everything, about the same as last year. But this year, we've decided to try filing it online to save ink/paper/money/time/frustration. Really, if we had to print off all three sets, it would had taken us (or more specifically, me, as I am responsible for every computer/printer problem in the house) hours just to get them right. The poor little old Canon has become a living dead for months now.

We're all happy when the tax filing was done and over with (and keep our fingers crossed and hope none of us get audited), we went to Tokachi for dinner. As usual, the green tea ice cream was the best part of the meal. XD We even happened to see one of our neighbours there, too.

But things started going downhill after the meal and some grocery shopping at T&T. Our garage door finally gave in. With the help of the neighbour's kid who was playing outside, we managed to get the cars out before the whole door crashed down. Thank goodness it's almost summer so it's not so much of a deal to park the cars outside. I hope it's not too expensive to replace the door thing. A lot of things seem to be needing replacement after 10 years: printer, garage door, fridge (anytime now), stove (sooner or later), answering machine. Yes, we just found that the answering machine had died while we were out. Oh, joy. -__-

Friday, April 30, 2004

Vancouver day tour! XD

After getting Lisa's phone call and a quick shower, I set out for the skytrain station with excitement and the prospect of getting some books from the Downtown library. The day started out well, with amiable sunshine and a warm breeze, and we quickly finished Lisa's mission #1 around Main. I never thought I would see so many black-haired people walking on the street outside China Town. They looked so young. I wondered how they perceived us? XP

Next stop is Waterfront, where we had lunch at a nice little Japanese restaurant Matsu near the famed steam clock. The clock rings every 15 min with the very familiar bell tune from Taiwanese elementary school. Nice food. Nice view. Nice bell.

We set out with a full stomach and visited Lisa's friend living in one of those grand townhouse/apartment combo places. It's right next to the Coal Harbour, so very nice view of the inner bay. One of the boats in the parking lot was most cute, designed like a small cozy green cottage, and another one had an owl on the post.

Then came our longest walk of the day as we proceeded to China Town. After completing Lisa's mission #2, we had a bowl of hot tofu pudding. It's been a long time since I had any! Though, we would had have some ice cream when we were in Downtown if the circumstance had permitted it. . :(

And of course, we were both excited about the final destination, the Downtown library! Incidentally, both of us headed straight to the manga section, and I soon wandered to the Japanese section. Unfortunately, there weren't any Animage or good ones. But I managed to find a few decent ones for the moment. The biggest surprise of the day was the Korean section. I never ventured there because I don't recognise a word of it, but I decided to see the manga selection there for the heck of it today. Guess what I found? 1 Saint Seiya, 2 Shiroi Senshi Yamato (!!), and a whole bunch of old school stuff! My final loot?

Genji Monogatari (Chinese)
Narutaru vol.1 (Chinese)
New Vampire Princess Miyu vol.3 (Chinese)
Doubutsu no Oisha-san vol.8 (Japanese)
Gundam Wing vol.1 & 3 (Japanese)
Super Robot War Final Strategy Guide (Japanese)
Saint Seiya vol.15 (Korean)
Shiroi Senshi Yamato vol.2 & 3 (Korean)

Of course, we had very pleasant and engaging conversation throughout the day and greatly enjoyed the day. We talked about everything from our school life in Taiwan, high school life here, friends, work, hobbies, habits, future, etc. It's also very nice of Lisa to pay for the transit fare and the lunch. Must get her something special for her birthday coming up next week!

Thursday, April 29, 2004

When it comes to comedy, I have to hand it to Full Metal Panic Fumoffu.

Full Metal Panic is already funny enough, but Fumoffu, without the grimmer line of Sousuke's duel with Gauron and the capture of the whisper's ability, is much much much much more superior in laughs.

And I had to repeat the scene several times today when Kazama went into SEED mode. ~>▽<~

I now declare Full Metal Panic Fumoffu the funniest anime of all time!! XD
吁~ slacking off and then trying to catch up on over a week of posts is not fun. But I did it. T__T

Brother is coming back from the States after almost one month of absence. Frankly, I don't miss him at all, except when I need to take out the garbage and vacuum the house. I suppose he'll immediately start an argument about the usage of the new computer system once he learns of it.

New item added to the DVD To Buy list: Wolf's Rain

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Ohh, ! $1900 after tax, huh? Sounds good! You've done your part, and I'll do mine to persuade Mum.

It's decided! The new system (name pending) will join Shao-Hei (Little Black) shortly!

Pentium 4 2.8Ghz
512MB DDR
120G HD, 8mb cache
ATI Radeon 9200SE 128MB DDR 8XAGP
Creative 4.1 SBS-450 4 Speakers w/subwoofer
Windows XP Pro
17" Acer LCD


~^O^

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Gate Keepers 完食。

. No dramatic or heart-wrenching scenes, but I couldn't help but 會心一笑 :)

Princess Nine 完食。

Nothing special at all, and the storyline turned into something like soap opera at one point. But the series is ok. Baseball has always been, after all, a source of my hot-blooded-ism. :P

But the automated recording from Shaw worried me. , I'm downloading too much, huh? (see? I said I can't afford to download everything and see how they turn out...) , I dropped after 3 episodes and will drop Ragnarok after 3 episodes as well. We'll see what happens afterwards...

Monday, April 26, 2004

This is what being a student is all about. The 修羅場 of papers and assignments.

Stupid stupid stupid assignments. And seeing your submissions made me realise how childish and lacking mine was. -__-
Though I really would have taken a course in GPS if there was one. o__o

Sunday, April 25, 2004

The long awaited farewell dinner with Tim!

Even though we don't talk or hang out very much, after all, he's been my cell leader for, what, five years now? I've always respected him greatly and admired his walk with the Holy Spirit. Sure, it's not a permanent separation, but I'll miss him. Who's there to chat about computers now? Oh well, maybe I'll meet him again in Vana'diel someday. XP

Having said the above, we haven't really felt the separation that's to take place in a few days. The 12 of us sure had a good time together and shared a few more laughs!

The cheesecake wasn't much to my liking, but the hot water with lemon and honey was good. XP

Saturday, April 24, 2004

? Why is my throat hurting when I swallow? Why is my head hurting by itself now and then? Why do my eyes feel so heavy? ?! >__<

And I was just thinking how I've been the only healthy one in the whole department and hadn't called in sick... :(

Friday, April 23, 2004

Very interesting message. Useful, too. Though I'm not planning to walk down that path, I'm sure the series will come in handy.

3 myths about love:
1) Love conquers all
- love alone isn't enough; "If I keep loving him/her more, it's ok if he/she drinks"
2) Love at first sight
- it's just excitement; no connection and knowing at all, usually outward attraction
3)....... :P

8 scenarios where the relationship would never work out:
1) When you love your partner more
- no balance and always 'chasing' the other side
2) When you idolise your partner or mentor
- difference in attitudes (boss vs. secretary, etc.)
3) When you are on a rescue mission
- sympathy isn't the same as love; you're always treating the partner as the weaker
4) When you are attracted by physical/outer aspects
- superficial, doesn't hold once the partner changes outwardly
5) When you love the potential of your partner
- you need to be able to love the partner as of now, not treating the partner as a project
6) When it happens during a short yet exciting period
- meet someone during a trip, etc.; no real connection and knowing, lose feeling when parted
7) When you choose your partner to be rebellious
- it's out of spite, not love; relationship needs to be blessed by family of both sides
8) When you and your partner are available

Thursday, April 22, 2004

Huh, who would have thought the place to be more troublesome than ours.

Due to many reasons and demands, the lawn mower was pushed all the way to the "Little House" to clean up the grassy jungle. One could never have guessed the state of the backyard by looking at the front lawn. It's a totally different world. The front was annoying because of the extremely weird shape and the extra portion that extended to the mailbox and the poll, but the back was much worse despite its simple rectangular shape.

After much toil and trouble, the wild jungle was reduced to a manageable mini prairie. Good enough. , new owner.
Left Behind 完食。

As expected, the novel version is indeed better and a lot more detailed than the movie version, though being able to see it makes an impact as well. I'm still seeing Buck and Nicolae as portrayed in the film. The Left Behind series definitely captures some essentials of the End Time, and I was constantly asking the question while reading: Will I be left behind when Jesus come for His people? Will you be left behind?

I sincerely hope and pray that the answer to my question is "No, for I will be taken to my heavenly home and be with Him and all my friends and families."

Time to get the second book...

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Collab 報告終於交出去了! (°∀°)
歷經汗與血及好幾個無眠夜 (つД`)
...再三交代要把顏色改回黑色、段落要排版、要做單字跟文法檢查、你怎麼都沒做啊~~~~~(*`Д´)╯

剛才查了一下 schedule、這科還有一個 collab 要做... _| ̄|O

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

It's official now, I'm gonna get a new computer within a few months.

I won't deny that some of the driving factors include FF XI, anime, MP3, but it's also for legitimate reasons such as school and diverting usage from Mum and Jugi, especially seeing how I'll have to run the heavy software within six months, and we're ALWAYS fighting over who gets to use the computer.

So here's the specs I'm thinking of right now:
Pentium 4 2.5Ghz+ or AMD Athlon 3000+
512 MB DDR RAM
120 GB HD
CD-RW
Windows XP Pro
128 MB+ video card
3-piece speakers w/ subwoofer
decent sound card

Main applications will be:
Mozilla & Firefox
Windows Media Player 6.4
FF XI (XP)
FirstClass
ArcView
ArcInfo
Access
Word
Winamp
ICQ
Xnews
emulators (GBA, SNES)

Now if the next staff shopping day can just come around sooner...

Monday, April 19, 2004

Rurounin Kenshin . Gotta admit, I wasn't too keen at first and wasn't buying all the hype the series was getting, but after finishing the whole thing, I gotta say I was impressed. No, I'm still not a fan of the series, but I did find quite a few chapters worthy of saving, namely the ones where Yahiko fought against the whale guy to protect the town, and the last few chapters depicting the afterwards for the characters. I also like the ink paintings. Very full of feelings.

Overall, RK is a nice series. I probably wouldn't want to read it through again in a few years though.

Sunday, April 18, 2004

Heh, how long has it been since I last worked on any paper? Two years? Can't say I miss those time, but it seems I still like to play around with words, after all.

Anyway, finally got that letter to students posted. We'll see what the others think of it. We'll also have to synch the content of the two letters as well. They're not consistent at all right now. ? ^__^;;

On another note, Gate Keepers isn't bad at all. Very interesting and nicely done for a plot line that's been used countless of times. I look forward to its development.

The guys on 's board seem to detest Tenjou Tenge, and I don't blame them. I stopped reading the manga after a few chapters myself. As expected, the anime version is full of fan service and more fan service. If it's not for the seiyuu cast, I wouldn't even grab the 1st episode. The OP, however, is *very* nice. I really like it. Just like how I liked Himikoden's OP. I suppose I'll watch a few more episodes before deciding whether to chuck it into the disco pile.

Saturday, April 17, 2004

Even though I went to bed at around 2am, woke up at 7am, started working at 8am, got home at around 5pm, and I was tired as anything, I decided to go to the prayer meeting.

On one hand, I was throwing away everything because of the exhaustion, on the other, I was hoping to get recharged at the prayer meet. And I did.

I'm glad I went. I miss the time immensely. . :)

Friday, April 16, 2004

你們是想怎麼樣?? =___=###

都已經在 outline 裡寫說不同等級的差別、你還問要怎麼加入 quasi-quantitative 分析??

所以我討厭 group project... -__-

Thursday, April 15, 2004

How could I be this tired?

True, I did stay up last night to discuss the collab until quarter to 1am, went to bed at around 2:45am, got up at 7am, started working at 8am, had an absolutely insanely crazy morning and throughout the whole shift, got home at around 4:45pm, cleaned a few files off the hard drive, tried to catch up on the reading.....

...I guess I do have a reason to be tired. Sorry, guys. I simply can't make it tonight. I'll definitely make up the lost time and effort tomorrow!! m(__)m

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Oh, the long missed Japanese food at Tokachi!

The combo thing wasn't as fulfilling and satisfying as the lunch bento, but it was better than none. What I missed the most, though, was the green tea ice cream. ! ^Q^

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

So this is the so-called Monday Syndrome, huh? Never thought I'd experience it.
...

Sunday, April 11, 2004

I take my words back. It's not like the End of Evangelion. It's worse. -__-###
Though Hoshimaru is still very very very cute. XD
Ohhhhh! Is that "Gundam SEED" I see there? They finally made a separate category for it? Sweet! Now I can really set my mind into writing SEED fanfics. XP

I also have more to read now! Nice! Though, it'll take me even longer to get back on track with the Slayers fanfics. I intend to finish the SEED ones while it's still small and manageable. Over a month away from ff.net is NOT a good idea, I've come to realise. Oh well. *goes off to read Gundam SEED fanfics*

EDIT: Whoa, they have "Samurai Deeper Kyo", "Full Metal Alchemist", "Peacemaker Kurogane" (not that I'm gonna read them), "Last Exile" (same with this), "Twelve Kingdoms" (!) now as well? I just see a huge chunk of my time gone in the near future...

Saturday, April 10, 2004

Spring cleaning of New Type day 1

Burnt out 3 CDs worth of MP3 and watched all the not-burning-worthy episodes. New Type now stands a little above the 2G mark. If all goes well, I should be able to get it to around 4G by the end of the weekend.

PS. Athrun is most cute in the drama HARO. ~XD Same in Kluzt: Senpai~XP

PS2. Haven't watched the new series yet, but Kuwashima Houko seems to play a role in many of them. Lucky~:D

Friday, April 09, 2004

*twitch* ...What's with all the singing and idol thing??

While trying to free up some space, I came across a Nadesico episode where an idol contest for a new captain is held (Oh, so that's where those songs I heard before come from). Then I watched an episode of Blue Seed where Momiji is entered into an idol contest. Then I tried Full Moon wo Sagashite, which is about a 12-year-old girl with one year to live wanting to become a singer (I totally hate myco's acting, btw. She has a nice deep voice for singing, but it's completely unsuitable for a little girl. Plus, her acting is plain and unexciting. -__-##)

Kidou Senkan Nadesico is really good, though. The plot is different from the manga (which came after the anime anyway?) and is full of drama. The integration between Nadesico and Gekiganger is great, and the whole thing is funny as anything~ A youthful hot-blooded series! I'm glad I got to watch it. ^__^

On another note, Samurai Deeper Kyo is good, too. I especially like the music, the camera angles, the flow of actions, and, of course, the cast. The biggest failure, however, is that even though it has nice character design and art, the proportion of people is just way off most of the time! -__-# I'm not even half way though, so we'll see how the story turns out (I heard that Kyoshiro prevails in the end. 'tis a shame. I like Kyo x Yuya better XP).

Thursday, April 08, 2004

Now I've really done it.

I'm not an impulsive buyer because I am poor 99% of the time. So what shall I call it this time? My bank account is mourning its lost, my mind and logic are struggling, but my heart is singing.

Final Fantasy XI, the only computer game I've ever planned to buy, now sits on the desk shelf with GPM DVDs, Mononoke Hime DVD, The Three Musketeers, and The Divine Comedy.

Now all that's left is to get a graphic card (gotta go look up the card model again), apply for a Master Card ($12.95US/month for 1 char, $13.95 for 2), clean up the disk space (6 out of 20G required... a big chunk, I'd say), read up on the game, and the installation.

My heart is going , but I don't know when I'll actually get to see the real action. Ah, all the complications~

Wednesday, April 07, 2004

It's official now. New Type is out of space and stands at 0 kb. -____-

Why is it that people are posting all these interesting looking series now?? These waves are just like those waves of customers. You can have half an hour go by without talking to one single customer, and you can be overwhelmed by several in the same minute!

Anyway, time to do another spring cleaning. Gotta burn those OPs & EDs out. Gotta watch those episodes. Gotta read those manga. Gotta finish those roms. Gotta burn those pictures out. Gotta...

Tuesday, April 06, 2004

, classics are made classics for a reason.

Even though the plot doesn't hold up very much now, even though a lot of the scenes still look outdated, even though the design are clearly from that time, even though I've watched it many times and know what's going to happen next, even though...

But Star Wars Trilogy live up its name after all those years. 1977. I wasn't even born then.

Granted, I'm not very much a Star Wars fan. The three movies and one novel are all I have under my belt. For some unexplainable reason, I didn't feel like watching Episode I at all. (Was there an Episode II as well?) Somewhere deep down, I felt that the new movie wouldn't do the original justice. It'd just be another Sci-fi movie with lots of great effects that carries the name. I'm quite the conservative, as you can see.

My thought turned to Gundam. I've been hearing the name for ages, but I never got the chance to see it or the many flavours of it. SD Gundam models and manga were all that I knew.

Came 2000, Gundam Wing entered my life. I was so thrilled to finally be able to get a glimpse of this great franchise that I immediately became a fan. Of course, as I slowly got more familiar with anime, I realised that Wing is AU and is nothing like the original or the other ones. To me, Wing didn't deliver enough of its promises. Nonetheless, I was happy to have watched it.

Then Gundam SEED entered the picture. It's said to be 'the First Gundam of the 21st century', and I fell for it instantly. The plot, the characters, the relationship between people, the interactions, the emotions, the... (and the cast, which is one of the best around)! Everything draws me in more, and I started posting on Gundam.com and discussing SEED with other people. I was sad to find out that most old timers see SEED as a rip-off and kiddy version of the original Gundam, and that most of them don't like SEED at all.

Strange, isn't it? There seems to be an odd relationship between the classics and their offspring, at least from my POV. Fans of the classics love and worship it, and the new ones are deemed inferior than the original. Fans of the new ones see the original as outdated and, in many cases, boring.

It could be a change of target audience, as the new series are typically created to recruit new blood to the aging fan base. It could just be the way our memory serves us, making what we held dear even more special. It could be.....

Whatever the reason, one thing is for sure, though. Classics or not, effects or not, bishounen or not, as long as the plot and the characters can move me, I'll be a fan. It was like this with Wing, it is like this with SEED, it is like this with many other great series, and it shall always be like this.

Heh, this has somehow become yet another disorganised post, hasn't it? *shrug* All I wanted to say is that I respect the classics and do find some of them to be great (Saint Seiya comes to mind), and enjoy the new ones for their fresh ideas and ways of execution. (I'm not even making sense to myself now. -__-)

Oh, and I still intend to watch the original Gundam and all the other Gundam series, UC and AU. I don't care if some people say they're ugly. Bad art isn't enough to deter me. XP

Sunday, April 04, 2004

え?!あの人たちは本物?!

真田幸村、徳川秀忠(紅虎)、猿飛佐助、霧隠才蔵、穴山小助、出雲の阿国、織田信長
->「SAMURAI DEEPER KYO」から
沖田総司、土方歳三、山崎烝、近藤勇、山南敬助、永倉新八、原田左之助、藤堂平助、斉藤一、坂本竜馬
->「PEACE MAKER 鐵」と「るろうに剣心」

面白いね、日本の歴史は!
なるたる 第 7-8 話

なにこれ?まるで THE END OF EVANGLION みたい。-__-

しかし、星丸はすごくすごくカ・ワ・イ・イよ~~~XD

でも、ちょっとわかる、これからのストーリは。

Saturday, April 03, 2004

Peace Maker Kurogane ep.24

I stopped watching it at ep.12 and decided to pick the last episode up to see if it's as promising as the OP..... I missed the real fight, didn't I? _| ̄|O

Though, I can't not admit that it's a beautifully drawn series. Neko-kun was right. Since it's the last episode that wraps everything up, I was able to focus more on the art, flow, pace, etc. Action GONZO! I was almost tempted to save the episode just for these. I suppose I'll be getting the missing episodes when I free up enough space.

Ep.24 is basically a summary of the aftermath of the climax raid. Viewing of previous episodes not required. It'd definitely help with more knowledge of the happenings, however.
First lawn mow of the season!

Man, I didn't realise that the whole backyard lawn has been taken over by the moss army corps. It's starting to look like the forest floor, minus the trees and ferns and stuff. Gotta start some massacre, I suppose. The thick mat of moss is keeping the whole place moist, making it difficult for me to mow. *twitch*

Finally got my car washed!

But it was rather disastrous. To start it off, the nuzzle wasn't working so I had to use my finger instead. Then the water didn't come out properly; apparently the hose was clogged somewhere. And did I say the water was COLD? No, make it FREEZING. It's got to a point where I was worrying whether it was sufficient to rinse off the liquid car wash properly. The worst of it all? I missed two spots. Right on the engine cover. It's so obvious ~>__<~

And last but not least, I crashed Mozilla in the evening. It's not Mozilla's fault, though. I simply ran out of disk space (< 5MB) in the middle of setting up an email account with Mozilla Mail. Everything worked fine after some frenzy hunting (to search for things I could delete) and a reboot. .

At least the day ended well.

Friday, April 02, 2004

Uwah, I missed the date! I meant to challenge myself to post something everyday starting from April, but I'm failing on the very first day. How resolved am I? -__-

This past week's been hectic. I have no idea why, but I just seem to have very little time to do whatever, even though I only work three days a week now. Hopefully, I'll be able to sort out a schedule and free up more time. I really DO need to study, after all.

Man, this post is just as disorganised as my current life... That should change in the future, I hope!

I've been eating pasta whenever I eat out lately. That baked shrimp and feta penne was all right, a bit on the salty side, though, especially near the bottom.

Now that I think of it, I've been eating irregularly and rather badly ever since I worked. The McDonald's consumption rate is even reaching a dangerous level (can you say McChicken?? -__-*). I'll have to come up with a battle plan to counter this soon, or I'll surely die early like Andy said...

Anyhow~ Time to go back to the translation. I'm almost there! , sanopup!! Fight! Oh! (I guess I'm lacking sleep...)

Hm, I knew there's a feature on Blogger to change the date of entries. *smirk* Now we'll see if I can keep up with the posting. XP

Thursday, January 08, 2004

Kino no Tabi ep.4

I've been wondering if Kino is actually a girl since the beginning. Yabari, it's just as I thought. Seeing how it's all about her travel, gender really isn't an issue, is it? I was somewhat surprised that she has an equally sad past. But then again, I kind of expected it after watching the previous episodes. The whole series is beautifully drawn, but it's also filled with much sadness and even regrets...

Sunday, January 04, 2004

Wow, it's been that long since I last posted anything, eh? I guess I'm just too lazy...

Anyhow. This is my first post in 2004 (I had to constantly remind myself to write '04 instead of '03 on everything)! To start it off, it's super freezing today! It's been like this for the past week, and even though I don't dislike snow or winter, it's making me even more lethargic.

My seasonal job seems to have been prolonged for another month. I suppose whether it will keep on going to not depend on my performance this month. I still can't believe how bad I was doing last week. 4! I only had 4 ESPs for the whole Boxing Week! Did I suck or what? -__-

Good news: I was accepted by SFU for the UniGIS program that will start this March.
Bad news: I have to pay the $5000 tuition by Feb. 1 if I want to enter the program, and I have less than a month to get that much money before the due date.
Somewhat uncertain: I might be able to get that amount if I sell all the mutual funds I have and add that to my savings...
We'll have to see.

....What a boring post for the first post of the year. Hopefully things will get more interesting next time. I have lots to say about many shows I've seen, but they're for later times. Until then.