Okay, it's official: I haven't updated this journal in a ridiculously long time. Instead of doing a huge update on every single little thing, let's just give a general overview of the important things, shall we?

The Good: I've lost roughly 45 pounds since last April. :D
The Bad: July saw the end of a three year relationship. (This and the previous are not related) I tried to power through it and do the friends thing for a while, but I've had to take a break from that and we're currently not speaking. Which kind of makes me sad, but it needs to happen so that I can preserve what little sanity I have left.
The Ugly: Forever and always looking for a new apartment, sob. People that post on Craigslist and don't respond to inquiries suck. Just saying.

So. Now onto more recent events, hmm?
- Daylight Savings Time tonight, don't forget! We lose an hour this time around. Eeew.
- Found Suikoden II in a store on Wednesday. This is a Very Big Deal. I've pretty much been... playing it obsessively since. Because I'm a geek like that.
- The ten year reunion for my original class is coming up. I've been invited. I didn't graduate with them, mind, but... ugh, ten years, seriously? Where did all that time go? I have no intention of GOING though. There's really... maybe a couple of people I would like to see, but that's about it, and I don't really think it's worth putting myself through that for. I'll admit that a big part of it is a large level of embarrassment on my part. I am certainly nowhere NEAR where I would like to be at this point in my life. Which yes, is kind of a sore point and I don't really feel like explaining to people how I've ended up in the gutter. If I at least had a date I could bring, that would be immensely better, but alas. Maybe by the time the 20th comes around, I'll not be completely mortified by the thought of having to explain my life to people I knew as a child.
- A disturbing story- Basically, an 11 year old girl in Texas got gang raped, and the god damned New York Times decided to run an article that more or less blamed her and her mother for the rape. Jesus Christ. There's a link in what I've linked to the original article and also to a petition to get an apology from the Times. It's the least they should be doing. The guy that wrote it should be fired. At best, it's irresponsible reporting. At worst... well... rape culture rears its ugly head yet again. This is the sickest thing I've seen in a while. There are no words to express my rage and disgust at this whole thing. Really, just... no words.
- My family is having a cow about the Supreme Court deciding that people protesting at soldier's funerals is protected by the 1st Amendment. Now, I'm not saying that protesting at ANYONE'S funeral is the right thing to do, because it's not. But first of all- they've never stopped this kind of behavior before. People have protested at the funerals of gays- I could be wrong, but I seem to remember people protesting at Matthew Shepard's funeral. I'm sure there are other examples that I'm just not thinking of at this hour of the morning. If you're going to try to restrict that kind of thing, you need to make sure it's across the board. Not just for military folk. Second of all, restrictions on the Bill of Rights always make me uncomfortable. It's a slippery slope. If they restrict one thing, then who's to say they're not going to keep doing it? One really only has to look at the US post 9/11 to see how true that is. It's always a matter of concern when they start stripping our rights, regardless of how disgusting I personally find certain behaviors. I don't think people should protest at a funeral, period. I also don't agree with the 2nd Amendment, but you know what? We have a right to those things if we choose- it's up to us whether we use them responsibly or not. You can use your right to bear arms to keep a gun in the house to protect yourself against an invader. Conversely, you can shoot yourself in the foot. It's up to you. Really, it comes down to an old philosophy that is a foundation that the US was built on: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

Maybe next time it won't be over two years between updates. You'd think I'd be able to manage something every couple of months here... right? We'll see. Until next time~

Currently Playing: Suikoden II
Currently Watching: Fairy Tail, Glee
Currently Reading: Between books at the moment, actually. Should start a new one soon.
Currently Listening To: I'm really into "Happens All the Time" by Cold and "Secrets" by One Republic right now.

Hey guys! Here's my Christmas list for this year. I'm putting links with these so you know what I'm talking about- not that you have to get these things online (well, okay, maybe for some of them...), but the links will hopefully make recognizing certain items easier. ♥

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........okay, you guys, that should be PLENTY and then some. Just so you know, with the manga, if I say "volume x and up", I obviously don't mean you have to get all of the volumes- just that I have up until volume x, so if you're going to get it, start with that one. That's all. ^_^

About time I updated this, I think. It's only been... well, forever. As far as what's been going on... the biggest thing, which most of you know about already, is that I ended up having an emergency appendectomy at the end of September. Which also involved being out of work for a month after that to recover. Fun stuff. I'm okay now and have some oh so fun scars on my tummy. Though I look at it this way- hey, I'll never have appendicitis again! Of course... when they were trying to figure out what was wrong with me, they found gall stones, which is FANTASTIC. But I guess as long as they're not causing a problem... *knock on wood*

The main reason I'm making this post, actually, is to say that I finally got my anime/manga list up and running. It's here. Well, that's the anime one, and you can get to the manga from there. It should make recommending things easier, hopefully. And hopefully I'll remember to keep it updated. I'm... clearly not very good with that sort of thing. ^_^;;;

I should get something of a Christmas list up here soon. I will, I just... am not going to do it right now, because right now I definitely need to get something to eat before I can concentrate on something like that. Maybe later today, but I won't make any promises on that score.

Okay. Food. Later!

Okay, so Edgefest was FUCKING AWESOME. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Absolutely no regrets in deciding to go, even though I ended up flying solo. Hands down the best concert I've ever been to. ♥ First of all, all of the bands were good, or at least passable (with the exception of one of the opening acts, but who cares about the opening acts anyway. XD). Out of the headliners, there was really only one that was only so-so. For Tantric, Filter, and Everclear I was ZOMGRIGHTUPFRONT. And all of the bands played amazingly, honestly. Though Everclear was CLEARLY -the- headliner. So there were two stages, right? One right next to the other- the idea was that one band would play on one, during which time the other stage would get set up, and when that band was done they'd bring out the next one on the next stage. It cut down tremendously on time between sets, generally (with one exception, which I'll talk about in a bit with the sucks. XD). So POD was second to last, right before Everclear, right? I figured I'd go up to the other stage and get a good spot while POD was playing, because honestly, I don't care much about them. It was a good thing I did- there were already a bunch of people there. O_o I eventually got a good spot to stand right along the fence though. And at one point Art Alexakis (lead singer in Everclear- the man is VERY recognizable XD) came on stage to fiddle with some of the equipment. He didn't look all that happy (again, part of the suck later), but of course everybody started screaming and he waved and did this sexy as hell grin. ....okay, maybe you had to be there, but it amused me greatly at the time. Like when they finally got on stage, and the first thing he said was something like, "You've been here all fucking day. You're hot, you're tired, you just want to go home... but you're still here!" XDDD Yep. All for you guys. ♥ Oh, and I got a Cinder Road CD (for ten bucks, yay!) and the lead singer signed it for me! ♥ I spent way too much money, but hell, I got two CD's and a t-shirt, plus food, and water was three bucks a bottle in and of itself (no, they don't let you bring in your own), and I had like three of those... oh, and I got an Everclear guitar pick, but that was free. They were tossing them out and one just landed right on my arm. ^_^ Needless to say, I grabbed it and shoved it in my pocket before anybody else noticed. XD And I'm only a little bit sunburned on my arms and nose. Not bad at all. ^_^

There were a few sucks, though. They weren't very organized in the beginning- I was amongst many people waiting at the entrance (still a trek from the actual gate, by the way) for a long time. Got there at 8 and they didn't unblock the driveway until somewhere around 9:30. And considering some of the STAFF showed up there and were like "WTF?", clearly the ball was dropped on that one. Badly. It did end up raining, though at least it wasn't for very long, so really not much of a suck. ^_^;;; Somewhere along the line I fucked up my knee- probably from getting shoved around and everything so much. It's not causing a lot of pain, just enough that it's like, "oh, that's not so good." The main band I came for- not the only one, by any stretch of the imagination, but the main one- was dead last, and there were technical difficulties before they went on, so there was a 45 minute delay. Needless to say, their set was cut short, and they ended up not doing the signing afterwards like they were going to. T_T Also, moshing. SUCKAGE there... people kept doing it and bringing people way close to the fence in front of the stage, so security people had to be zomgrightthere. One of the guys was standing directly in front of me. Sadness. But the pictures didn't turn out half bad considering that it was getting dark and I had to take pictures around the security guy. Not as good quality as I'd like, mind, but not half bad. I got a few good pictures anyway. ^_^

Pictures here. For anybody not familiar with photobucket, the sub folders are on the left hand side, organized by band. ♥

It occurred to me the other day that it's been absolutely AGES since I wrote in this, so I figure I should probably attempt to keep up with this at least a little bit. We'll see how that works out.

So what's been happening? Not much that's new. Made another trip to Canada back in May where I went to Anime North- which, okay, probably sounds pretty dumb to most of you but it was actually cool. Dude, I got chocolate almond pocky, which is awesome and they don't sell pocky here. Anyway, next time it's totally her turn to come down here and visit me~! ^_^

My main obsession is still anime (no, haven't gotten over that yet)... which reminds me, so this isn't completely pointless, I come with a recommendation: Chi's Sweet Home. It's very short- probably around 3 minutes per episode and there's 52 episodes subbed right now. It's just about the cutest thing ever. Youtube link is up there so you have no excuses! Or you can also go to crunchyroll... they have LOTS of anime on that site besides Chi though, so go ahead and check it out. ^_^ I can come up with more recs if people want them, because seriously, with anime, there's something out there for everybody.

Okay. Enough of that, I think I'm going to go find something to do. Later!

Hmm, it's been a while since I wrote in this, huh? I... kind of fail. But! I have a computer that actually works now, yay! Even if it likes to randomly restart sometimes...

So yeah, basically I'm waiting on some clothes that I'm washing and kind of bored, so I figured I'd update this. Not a lot to say, though. Really... I should be writing. Meh. Story of my life, right there.

Is Christmas done with yet? Honestly... I'm not normally all that thrilled with retail. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not really built for customer service- I'm too cynical and bitchy and I can't always hide that. XD But the holiday season is just... hell. Complete hell. It's right up there with prom/graduation season. We're barely into December and already I'm like, "Okay, you all can die now plsthnx." This... is probably not a good thing.

Okay. Since it turns out I can manage... a bit for Christmas, I might as well put some semblance of a list of crap I want here. Sorry it's so late, guys. You know the circumstances here.

This Year's (Rather Short) Christmas List

Manga
-Fullmetal Alchemist- Volume 5 and up
-Prince of Tennis- Volume 1 and up
-Hikaru No Go- Volume 10
-Loveless- Volume 2 and up

Movies
-The Sixth Sense

Games
-Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector (for DS)
-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (PS2)
-Fable: The Lost Chapters (XBox)

......and sadly, that's all I can think of at the moment. I'll let you guys know if I think of anything else, okay?

Alright, I need to make this quick because I've got a lot to do... right now I'm getting a bite to eat before I hop in the shower, then I need to pack. Then hopefully get some dishes done if I've got time. I'm leaving Canada tonight... the original plan had been to leave tomorrow, but the date is fixed and I'd have to pay them to change it, and I really don't have a lot of money left. XD So... yeah. Coming back a day early. The good part about that is that I get an extra day recovery time from the bus trip. The bad part... well, is that I leave early. Meh.

I really do need to go... lots to do and not enough time. So! I'll be back in Albany around 9am tomorrow, assuming all goes well. See you guys later!

Well, I've called mom and everything, so I'm hoping that she's already let everyone know through the grapevine... but I'm okay. ^_^ Trip went fine. No problems, though there was some confusion in Buffalo since not even the staff seemed to know which bus was the right one to go to Toronto, but it ended up fine in the end. Yay for helpful random strangers!

Also, the bitch at the service counter when I went to go pick up my tickets almost got fucking hit. Seriously. First she told me that I couldn't pick up my tickets until after midnight. Okay fine, whatever. Then when I was actually picking up my stuff, she tried to tell me that my birth certificate was a photocopy and not valid. What the fuck? It's like, okay, if you had any idea what you were doing you'd see that it's obviously not a photocopy. God.. Fucking bitch. *whap* Obviously, she eventually yanked her head out of her ass and gave me my tickets... still, though. You'd think she'd be able to tell the difference.

Customs wasn't that big of a deal, though, which was good. But that meant that I had pretty much no layover in Toronto, since I had to figure out which terminal I was at and book it over there, so I didn't get a chance to exchange my money. Bummer. I'll have to do that in the next few days.

On that note, I'm exhausted, so I think I'm going to take care of the digital puppies and go to sleep. Night all!

I think everyone knows by now, but my computer is dead. Well... okay, I don't know if it's really DEAD or if it just needs a part replaced or something... but it'll be a bit before I can take it somewhere to have it looked at, and/or get a new computer to replace it. Just so you guys know what's going on. I haven't forgotten about this journal or anything (not that it really matters much, but whatever), I just... don't have reliable internet access. Again.

In other news, I'm going to Canada in less than a week. Leaving very early Monday morning and will be back on the 16th. And yes, I'll let everyone know that I got up there and back safely and everything, and blah blah blah. It's all under control guys, honestly.

Alright, I need to go to bed. See you all later!

Brace yourselves, guys... (and before you click on the link, there's a bit of a spoiler for Deathly Hallows. So if you haven't finished, you shouldn't read the article.)

DUMBLEDORE WAS GAY.

Now before you say anything, yes, this is a reputable HP site.  Mostly, this just... amuses me to no end, you have no idea. I laughed my ass off when I read that. So much fun, and the best thing to come home to after a long day at work. <3

Huh. Well, I was trying to write in this about once a week at minimum, but I see that went to hell fairly quickly. But! I have a reliable internet connection now, so I should be able to start doing that again. You know... whether people want it or not. XD

I'd be all excited about the cable and tell you how cool the DVR thing is, but I haven't been able to touch it. At all. Only things I've seen on the tv are CMT and Days of Our Lives, both of which I walked right back out of the room for. So yeah. I'll have to squee about that later. <_<

Also, I've started using Firefox as a web browser, which everyone should totally use because it's SO much better than Internet Explorer. Really.

Generally, though... nothing really changes. Customers are stupid, my job sucks, blah blah blah. Nothing new here.

Except... I'm going to Canada in a little less than three weeks. YAY!

(I should probably get some semblance of a Christmas list up here soon. Meh.)

Alright, I really have only one thing to say at the moment...

EVERYONE NEEDS TO CHILL THE FUCK OUT, OKAY?!

That is all. ^_^

Irish Fest was really cool. Spent entirely too much money, though thank god I'd prepared for that... The only complaint I'd have is that it was COLD on Saturday. Like... I was freezing my ass off all day even before the sun went down, and after? Yeah. FUCKING COLD. 

The vacation is good so far. I haven't done much of anything, but that's kind of the point, isn't it? Just sit back and relax for a week and not have to deal with the real life every day stuff. ^_^

I think I'm going to go out and take some pictures, maybe. Depends on how fast my camera decides to eat the batteries. XD So... maybe I'll have pictures later!

I wish I knew how to do sparkly text. Because... VACATION!

Of course, I should be in bed right now, considering I have to be up at 9 at the absolute latest. Or at the very least I should be PACKING. You know. That would be good. *rolls eyes at self*

So yes. Excited about Irish Fest and the time off. Now I need to go attempt some packing. Later, guys!

(Edited with sparkly text!)

I officially have my ticket for Irish Fest. Yay! Can't wait, it's going to be fun. ^_^ So! It's all day on Saturday, September 15. If anyone's going, let me know and we can probably meet up at some point. <3 You know, besides Stef, because I'm going with her and her mom. So obviously I know she'll be there. XD

Really nothing else to report except for... 10 days till my vacation, and 13 until my birthday. Whee!

Apparently, there's an abnormally long lunar eclipse in the morning... that should be pretty cool if I don't fall asleep before then, since it starts at 5:52am for those of us in EST. Also, I may not be able to see it with all the buildings and tall trees and stuff right where I live, but it's worth a shot, right? Go see it if you can! ^_^

On another note, the boss is being a dick about my vacation. Specifically, that I have a few Saturdays off in a row. It's like... oh my fucking god, just deal with it. Seriously... when do I ever ask for time off? I don't call in unless my back is to the wall, like earlier this year when I had bronchitis and strep and was told that I had to stay home. I go in, I do my job... which is more than I can say for some of my co-workers. Plus, Mary already said that she'd cover my shifts during my vacation. So the big deal is... where, exactly? He has the coverage. It's not my problem if he doesn't want to put Mary in photo, it's too fucking bad. I NEED THIS VACATION! *flails*

*yawns* Hmm, maybe I'll take a nap. Or something.

I saw a picture today of someone I used to go to school with- wow. Just wow. At least, I think it was her... I'm not completely sure since she's almost unrecognizable now. She's gained A LOT of weight. Is it totally horrible of me to be kind of amused by that because I never liked her?

On a somewhat related note, it's really weird to see teachers from high school. Still. You'd think I would've gotten used to that by now- I see Mrs. Saddlemire fairly often and Mrs. Lapinski every once in a while. There have been others, too. Or, also weird is seeing parents of classmates and realizing how much older they look. Two in particular I'm thinking of... just all of a sudden they look old. On the other hand, Mrs. S and Mrs. L look exactly the same. It's a little creepy, actually. XD

It's just funny how much changes over time, that's all. Like I'm going to be 24 in a month. How did that happen? I'm (practically) 24 years old and so burned out I can't even stand it anymore. I really need a permanent vacation from this job. I'm not built for customer service- at least not for the long term. I need to go back to school. I need some fucking direction instead of just wandering around aimlessly like I have been for the last five (!) years. I still have no idea what I want to do with my life. Well... okay, that's not completely true. I want to write- even if it's just in a minor capacity. And I remember in high school when I visited the Times Union building for the school newspaper... I remember walking into that newsroom and feeling like, this is it. This is where I'm supposed to be. To someone who has always felt that they belonged somewhere else... it was an amazing feeling, and one that I still can't explain adequately. Of course, I would be awful as a reporter. Maybe a columinst, or an editor of sorts? Or a writer for a magazine or something? (Video game reviews, FTW! Then again, that would require me to actually finish stuff. Meh.)

Well. First thing's first, I need to get into school before that. If I can manage to get my butt into gear and not procrastinate too much...

It took longer than I expected to read. Partially because I had a harder time getting into it except toward the end, and partially because I had to work the whole weekend I was reading it. Anyway. So the mandatory half coherant reaction post, only several weeks after the book was released, but nevermind. XD

SPOILERS FOR DEATHLY HALLOWS!
If you haven't read/finished the book and don't want to be spoiled, DO NOT read this post.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!


( Click here for the rest! )

Hi! This is my personal journal. You'll find real life whining here, as well as occasional writing (if I ever get off my ass and do it), and Harry Potter talk on occasion. I'll try my hardest to keep this journal anime-free, since I know that most people I know think I'm crazy for being into that. Okay?

On that note, I'm going to post a Deathly Hallows reaction thing and get out of here. Later! <3