(no subject)
Oh, wow. It's been...a month since I posted here. *blink*
Some news that people have no interest in, whatsoever:
1. I passed my life licensing exam. Squeaked by. I hate multiple choice exams. It's a pain in the butt, trying to figure out the best answer. And life insurance is not a cut-and-dry field. I recently watched a dvd compilation of some tv broadcasts related to life insurance. It's amazing what kind of scams people come up with and how immoral all the sales people are. I'm glad that I won't have to deal exclusively with insurance. Mutual funds and debt management sound so much better nowadays. Though I'm feeling the need to educate some people. Not to mention bash some heads in for giving all people connected to life insurance a bad name.
2. Just when I finished studying for one exam, I have to study for another. I've got an investment funds exam in mid-October. If I pass and obtain my license, I'll be a licensed financial planner-slash-advisor. Pretty cool, eh? That's only if I decide to get the license though. If I do, I won't be able to do anything else. At the moment, I'm free to take on other jobs (I'm looking into the JET program right now). *sigh* Well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
3. Tracy's boyfriend moved in with us. They're living in the basement. It's taking some effort on everybody's part to adapt to the new arrangements, but I'm actually not as affected as I expected to be. I mean, I spend most of my time in my room (i.e. playing with my computer and the 'net) or in the lab anyway. Chores have been quite easily shared. The only problem is they have to come up to my bathroom for showers, but we're installing a new one in the main-level bathroom, so that'll be taken care of soon enough. Pretty nice arrangement all around.
4. Rewatched all of Witch Hunter Robin. I knew there was a reason I was wading through ff.net for fics. The series is wonderful. The art is gorgeous: the detail in all the scenery; the facial expressions (How many do they have for each character? It's so much more in depth than most series); the voices; the sheer sexxor that is Amon. And the plot! The music! There are no weak main characters! Awesome series. I don't think it's possible to love a series more than I love WHR at the moment.
Fic recs:
Binah - Amazing plot, well-done characterization, and believable OCs. Definitely my favourite so far. (Beware the pop-ups and general Angelfire unpleasantness.)
Disappearing Life - Plot? Check. Characterization? Check. OCs? Check.
Burning Time - Once again, intriguing plot and solid characters. I found the rampant use of Italian a little distracting, but it's not too bad.
5. Also developed a liking for Full Metal Panic. I liked the series itself enough when I watched it a while ago. When I read Boku-tachi's translation of the novels, I found myself liking those as well. So I looked around for some fics. I actually found some interesting ones that have an intriguing balance of military action and relationship development. Dave-D's fics aren't for everyone (I found them a little hard to read in parts) but the length is appealing and his characterization of Sousuke is interesting.
6. Lastly, I've found myself reading (of all things) vampire AU of Rurouni Kenshin. *snicker* I've never been a fan of vampire stories, nor AU RK fics, but I'm in the middle of a Battousai craze and feeling slightly bloodthirsty lately.
WARNING: Slight spoilers for recent FMA happenings ahead. <-- This is Jess covering her butt.
7. With regards to FMA...I love the series. I really do. But Dante keeps giving off the Mary Sue vibes and I can't help but resent the fact that they've inserted a stock "but I'm doing this for our LOVE and we'll be together forEVER and since you're not as devoted to me as you said you'd be I'm going to KILL you now" character. Well, it's not that bad. At least she's very clear on her selfish intentions. But I don't like her one bit. Not even as a villain. (She's not really much of a villain as villains go anyway. I'm more fond of Orochimaru's pervy-villainy than I am of Dante.)
But I still love Ed and I still love Al and I'm falling even more in love with Roy and (so help me) I'm liking the little Roy/Hawkeye vibe going on. (Please don't shoot me! I know I said that I don't watch FMA for pairings (or at least I intended to say it, so even if I didn't, consider it said) but Hawkeye is so cute in her devotion and Roy is so easy to pair people with. Plus, the fic is good. Though Roy/Ed fic is also good. But I'm in love with Hawkeye and I don't think she gets enough fic-time, so I'm biased I guess.)
Some news that people have no interest in, whatsoever:
1. I passed my life licensing exam. Squeaked by. I hate multiple choice exams. It's a pain in the butt, trying to figure out the best answer. And life insurance is not a cut-and-dry field. I recently watched a dvd compilation of some tv broadcasts related to life insurance. It's amazing what kind of scams people come up with and how immoral all the sales people are. I'm glad that I won't have to deal exclusively with insurance. Mutual funds and debt management sound so much better nowadays. Though I'm feeling the need to educate some people. Not to mention bash some heads in for giving all people connected to life insurance a bad name.
2. Just when I finished studying for one exam, I have to study for another. I've got an investment funds exam in mid-October. If I pass and obtain my license, I'll be a licensed financial planner-slash-advisor. Pretty cool, eh? That's only if I decide to get the license though. If I do, I won't be able to do anything else. At the moment, I'm free to take on other jobs (I'm looking into the JET program right now). *sigh* Well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
3. Tracy's boyfriend moved in with us. They're living in the basement. It's taking some effort on everybody's part to adapt to the new arrangements, but I'm actually not as affected as I expected to be. I mean, I spend most of my time in my room (i.e. playing with my computer and the 'net) or in the lab anyway. Chores have been quite easily shared. The only problem is they have to come up to my bathroom for showers, but we're installing a new one in the main-level bathroom, so that'll be taken care of soon enough. Pretty nice arrangement all around.
4. Rewatched all of Witch Hunter Robin. I knew there was a reason I was wading through ff.net for fics. The series is wonderful. The art is gorgeous: the detail in all the scenery; the facial expressions (How many do they have for each character? It's so much more in depth than most series); the voices; the sheer sexxor that is Amon. And the plot! The music! There are no weak main characters! Awesome series. I don't think it's possible to love a series more than I love WHR at the moment.
Fic recs:
Binah - Amazing plot, well-done characterization, and believable OCs. Definitely my favourite so far. (Beware the pop-ups and general Angelfire unpleasantness.)
Disappearing Life - Plot? Check. Characterization? Check. OCs? Check.
Burning Time - Once again, intriguing plot and solid characters. I found the rampant use of Italian a little distracting, but it's not too bad.
5. Also developed a liking for Full Metal Panic. I liked the series itself enough when I watched it a while ago. When I read Boku-tachi's translation of the novels, I found myself liking those as well. So I looked around for some fics. I actually found some interesting ones that have an intriguing balance of military action and relationship development. Dave-D's fics aren't for everyone (I found them a little hard to read in parts) but the length is appealing and his characterization of Sousuke is interesting.
6. Lastly, I've found myself reading (of all things) vampire AU of Rurouni Kenshin. *snicker* I've never been a fan of vampire stories, nor AU RK fics, but I'm in the middle of a Battousai craze and feeling slightly bloodthirsty lately.
WARNING: Slight spoilers for recent FMA happenings ahead. <-- This is Jess covering her butt.
7. With regards to FMA...I love the series. I really do. But Dante keeps giving off the Mary Sue vibes and I can't help but resent the fact that they've inserted a stock "but I'm doing this for our LOVE and we'll be together forEVER and since you're not as devoted to me as you said you'd be I'm going to KILL you now" character. Well, it's not that bad. At least she's very clear on her selfish intentions. But I don't like her one bit. Not even as a villain. (She's not really much of a villain as villains go anyway. I'm more fond of Orochimaru's pervy-villainy than I am of Dante.)
But I still love Ed and I still love Al and I'm falling even more in love with Roy and (so help me) I'm liking the little Roy/Hawkeye vibe going on. (Please don't shoot me! I know I said that I don't watch FMA for pairings (or at least I intended to say it, so even if I didn't, consider it said) but Hawkeye is so cute in her devotion and Roy is so easy to pair people with. Plus, the fic is good. Though Roy/Ed fic is also good. But I'm in love with Hawkeye and I don't think she gets enough fic-time, so I'm biased I guess.)