Progress Update! [updated @ 16:45: Jess, see below]
Winter Readings: Novel 2: Night Prey
I've finished "Night Prey" by John Sanford, which was pretty interesting. I think the ending could have used a little more work, and there were a few parts that didn't make much sense (like the author wasn't being as descriptive enough for me to figure out what was actually going on). One thing that I got a little annoyed with was quotation errors (all starting a quote and forgetting to end it before going into narration)... I believe I found two or three in the book, which is so damn annoying.
I'd have to give this book a B- rating, mostly because it was confusing at points, but also because the ending was a bit abrupt and needed some more details. Other wise, it's a decent book, worth the read.
Winter Readings: Novel 3: Abduction
And with the completion of "Night Prey," it's time to move along to the next book on my winter readings list... "Abduction" by Robin Cook. It's been a few months since I last read a novel from Robin Cook, and I can't wait to sink my eyes into this one.
I was looking over the novel, when I realized something... Robin Cook is the only author that I've read that frequently has a Glossary and a Bibliography at the end of the book. I read the glossary before I begin reading the novel, and this time, it was just crazy. To simplify and summarize what the definitions were about: Volcanoes, Embryos, Plankton, and Rocks (out of two pages of definitions). It really sparks my interest.
アニメ Update!
いちご100% オリジナル (Ichigo 100% OVA)
That's quite the interesting anime there... Definitely befitting of the genre "ecchi." But, I liked it anyway... For some reason, the sheer stupidity of ecchi anime makes me laugh.
I give this anime... MMMmmmm... a B. It's difficult to grade this one, seeing as how there was only 6 episodes (+ a special). I'm downloading the full-blown アニメ for this one, to see how that one goes as well. Eh, it was on my "list of anime to get" anyway.
舞-HiME (Mai-HiME)
Finally, after months and months of waiting, I watched the last episode of 舞-HiME. I was so worried that it would get licensed before I could download the last episode (because I had to go back to college before the last episode was released by Static -- I ended up grabbing the last ep from another sub, but not it, unless I couldn't get the last ep from Static -- which I was able to do).
It is a little confusing to watch the last two episodes of an anime months after watching the majority of the series, but it is the price I pay to get an アニメ as it's being released... All of this makes providing a grade for the アニメ even more difficult. I'd say B+ to A- range... I remember that I was totally obsessed over the anime when I was first getting it (last year, maybe 9 months ago?). To me, the ending was a little confusing, but that's probably because I have forgotten the guts of the show since I last watched it ^_^;
Also, regarding aarinfantasy: the やおい collection, I logged in yesterday for the first time in ages (school blocks torrents, and I kind of forgot about logging in for the past few weeks I've been at home - catching up on all my アニメ "partials") and I was totally annoyed (at first)... The first thing that I noticed was that the theme had changed a lot, but that didn't bother me... What bothered me was the fact that most of the form was set to private, and I wasn't able to find a single torrent on the entire site! Grrr.
Out of anger, I logged off the site and went back to downloading other shows (Bleach and Ichigo). After a while, I calmed down (it had been a fairly bad day: more about that later) and decided to check the site again... Perhaps it was just going through a revamp or maybe I had logged in incorrectly, and didn't have access to see the torrent thread. After surfing for twenty minutes or so, I stumbled on the rules thread, "last updated: December 22, 2005 @ 9pm." "Hmmm," I though to myself.... "Wait... TODAY!?!" Yes, I just managed to stumble upon the rules thread just hours after they were updated.
I read though the rules (a small change in policy can easily lock a person out of a forum, or worse, get them banned). This time, I was in the clear. My profile, which I though I filled out, was blank. Which means that my birth date wasn't in there, locking me out of the "18+" forum threads, which included all the BT threads, and also explained why I had so much trouble navigating the site. A few clicks here and there, a keystroke or two, and I had all the access that I had the last time I was at aarinfantasy. w00t.
One last tid-bit to add to my "アニメ" update... I've decided to finish off Prince of Tennis... It's been ages since I last got any of the テニスの王子様 torrents. I haven't done much research, but I believe the series has concluded... I'm not sure if there was 151 episodes (all that Anime-Otakus did) or if there were more. Either way, this is pretty close to the longest running anime in a single fansub that I have. To be official, I'd have to get a few of the episodes near the beginning that I didn't get from AO, but other than that, it's pretty sweet to have an entire anime in nearly a single sub. The closest I've come to that is Hikaru no Go - which I have all 75 episodes in either Elite Subs or Realfansubbers (RF being a branch off of ES) and Cardcaptor Sakura, of which I have all 70 (plus the movies) in one sub.
Non-issues...
Last week, some of you may remember that I said that one of my annoyances of the day was that I had been pestered by calls from Chrysler Financial for the past week. Well guess what! Since that post, I haven't had a single call! It's been exactly one week... I remember because on Saturday (when I went to the party in Howell) I didn't get a call, and I had the day before. Every day, the calls got more urgent and more pestering. On the times that I would get an operator, they seemed to be clueless as to *why* they were calling me. Three times I talked to the operator when they called me, and each time, I told them to take me off their list. Several additional times, I called them, and told them to stop calling (without an account number, they couldn't do anything though).
Honestly, I don't think I was ever removed from the account... I believe that they stopped calling because of what one of the operators told my dad: "'Brandice' is probably being called for a reference on some other account" (which would explain why they couldn't look up my phone number and remove it from the system). Several voicemails were left on my phone that started off as "It's very important to return our call as soon as possible." And on Friday, I got two calls, on in the morning, and one in the afternoon --both went to voice mail. The last sounded a lot like a "This is your final notice" letters that business send out before they send your account to a debt-collector.
Well, I feel bad for whomever Chrysler Financial was trying to get in contact with, but there's nothing much I could do about it.
Last but not least BLOGTHINGS!
Take The Quiz Yourself!
You Were Nice This Year!
You're an uber-perfect person who is on the top of Santa's list.
You probably didn't even *think* any naughty thoughts this year.
Unless you're a Mormon, you've probably been a little too good.
Is that extra candy cane worth being a sweetheart for 365 days straight?
Were You Naughty or Nice This Year?
Your Christmas Stocking Will Be Filled With Coal
You haven't been *that* naughty this year
Santa is just screwing with you
What Will Be In Your Christmas Stocking?
Those last two are kind of contradictory...
OOP, I almost forgot!
Grades for the term are in! Straight As! I can't believe it. Cultural Diversity was a matter of rounding too! I was 94.58% - and with the way my instructor rounds, there was a decent possibility that I could have got a 94% (A-) -- but she did round up! w00t! Three of my Fall Quarter goals did make it, I'm happy!
Also, I managed to make two CD-coasters today. Grrr. Damn overburning with Prince of Tennis...
Jessica... You asked for it...
Dad just dumped the mail in front of me... And one of the letters was the "We wish to thank you for your interest...." but you suck! letters... Hahaha... Ahhh ~sigh.
It was a total "Dear John (I mean, Daniel), you're not going to be an RA for Winter quarter" letter. I'm now wondering why I didn't get the position... Maybe I'm just not cut out for being an RA? Everyone does know that I freak out when I get stressed, and RA is so very stressful... I know *anon_ra_here* said that the selection was down to me and a few other guys (three or four), and it was likly to be a "name out of a hat" choice at that point.
Hmmm, I dunno ~~ myestery. I'm not sure if I'll apply anymore... There's a small chance that a position could open up for spring quarter (mayyyyybe I'll apply in that situation), but if not, it's not likely. Fall quarter '06 (maybe winter quarter '07) is my last quarter, and it would just be stupid to go through all that training just to leave so soon. And being an RA in my last quarter would suck anyway.
Bright side: I won't have to return to college Jan. 3, nor will I have to come up with three programs in the next few weeks!
I've finished "Night Prey" by John Sanford, which was pretty interesting. I think the ending could have used a little more work, and there were a few parts that didn't make much sense (like the author wasn't being as descriptive enough for me to figure out what was actually going on). One thing that I got a little annoyed with was quotation errors (all starting a quote and forgetting to end it before going into narration)... I believe I found two or three in the book, which is so damn annoying.
I'd have to give this book a B- rating, mostly because it was confusing at points, but also because the ending was a bit abrupt and needed some more details. Other wise, it's a decent book, worth the read.
Winter Readings: Novel 3: Abduction
And with the completion of "Night Prey," it's time to move along to the next book on my winter readings list... "Abduction" by Robin Cook. It's been a few months since I last read a novel from Robin Cook, and I can't wait to sink my eyes into this one.
I was looking over the novel, when I realized something... Robin Cook is the only author that I've read that frequently has a Glossary and a Bibliography at the end of the book. I read the glossary before I begin reading the novel, and this time, it was just crazy. To simplify and summarize what the definitions were about: Volcanoes, Embryos, Plankton, and Rocks (out of two pages of definitions). It really sparks my interest.
アニメ Update!
いちご100% オリジナル (Ichigo 100% OVA)
That's quite the interesting anime there... Definitely befitting of the genre "ecchi." But, I liked it anyway... For some reason, the sheer stupidity of ecchi anime makes me laugh.
I give this anime... MMMmmmm... a B. It's difficult to grade this one, seeing as how there was only 6 episodes (+ a special). I'm downloading the full-blown アニメ for this one, to see how that one goes as well. Eh, it was on my "list of anime to get" anyway.
舞-HiME (Mai-HiME)
Finally, after months and months of waiting, I watched the last episode of 舞-HiME. I was so worried that it would get licensed before I could download the last episode (because I had to go back to college before the last episode was released by Static -- I ended up grabbing the last ep from another sub, but not it, unless I couldn't get the last ep from Static -- which I was able to do).
It is a little confusing to watch the last two episodes of an anime months after watching the majority of the series, but it is the price I pay to get an アニメ as it's being released... All of this makes providing a grade for the アニメ even more difficult. I'd say B+ to A- range... I remember that I was totally obsessed over the anime when I was first getting it (last year, maybe 9 months ago?). To me, the ending was a little confusing, but that's probably because I have forgotten the guts of the show since I last watched it ^_^;
Also, regarding aarinfantasy: the やおい collection, I logged in yesterday for the first time in ages (school blocks torrents, and I kind of forgot about logging in for the past few weeks I've been at home - catching up on all my アニメ "partials") and I was totally annoyed (at first)... The first thing that I noticed was that the theme had changed a lot, but that didn't bother me... What bothered me was the fact that most of the form was set to private, and I wasn't able to find a single torrent on the entire site! Grrr.
Out of anger, I logged off the site and went back to downloading other shows (Bleach and Ichigo). After a while, I calmed down (it had been a fairly bad day: more about that later) and decided to check the site again... Perhaps it was just going through a revamp or maybe I had logged in incorrectly, and didn't have access to see the torrent thread. After surfing for twenty minutes or so, I stumbled on the rules thread, "last updated: December 22, 2005 @ 9pm." "Hmmm," I though to myself.... "Wait... TODAY!?!" Yes, I just managed to stumble upon the rules thread just hours after they were updated.
I read though the rules (a small change in policy can easily lock a person out of a forum, or worse, get them banned). This time, I was in the clear. My profile, which I though I filled out, was blank. Which means that my birth date wasn't in there, locking me out of the "18+" forum threads, which included all the BT threads, and also explained why I had so much trouble navigating the site. A few clicks here and there, a keystroke or two, and I had all the access that I had the last time I was at aarinfantasy. w00t.
One last tid-bit to add to my "アニメ" update... I've decided to finish off Prince of Tennis... It's been ages since I last got any of the テニスの王子様 torrents. I haven't done much research, but I believe the series has concluded... I'm not sure if there was 151 episodes (all that Anime-Otakus did) or if there were more. Either way, this is pretty close to the longest running anime in a single fansub that I have. To be official, I'd have to get a few of the episodes near the beginning that I didn't get from AO, but other than that, it's pretty sweet to have an entire anime in nearly a single sub. The closest I've come to that is Hikaru no Go - which I have all 75 episodes in either Elite Subs or Realfansubbers (RF being a branch off of ES) and Cardcaptor Sakura, of which I have all 70 (plus the movies) in one sub.
Non-issues...
Last week, some of you may remember that I said that one of my annoyances of the day was that I had been pestered by calls from Chrysler Financial for the past week. Well guess what! Since that post, I haven't had a single call! It's been exactly one week... I remember because on Saturday (when I went to the party in Howell) I didn't get a call, and I had the day before. Every day, the calls got more urgent and more pestering. On the times that I would get an operator, they seemed to be clueless as to *why* they were calling me. Three times I talked to the operator when they called me, and each time, I told them to take me off their list. Several additional times, I called them, and told them to stop calling (without an account number, they couldn't do anything though).
Honestly, I don't think I was ever removed from the account... I believe that they stopped calling because of what one of the operators told my dad: "'Brandice' is probably being called for a reference on some other account" (which would explain why they couldn't look up my phone number and remove it from the system). Several voicemails were left on my phone that started off as "It's very important to return our call as soon as possible." And on Friday, I got two calls, on in the morning, and one in the afternoon --both went to voice mail. The last sounded a lot like a "This is your final notice" letters that business send out before they send your account to a debt-collector.
Well, I feel bad for whomever Chrysler Financial was trying to get in contact with, but there's nothing much I could do about it.
Last but not least BLOGTHINGS!
Take The Quiz Yourself!
You Were Nice This Year!
You're an uber-perfect person who is on the top of Santa's list.
You probably didn't even *think* any naughty thoughts this year.
Unless you're a Mormon, you've probably been a little too good.
Is that extra candy cane worth being a sweetheart for 365 days straight?
Were You Naughty or Nice This Year?
Your Christmas Stocking Will Be Filled With Coal
You haven't been *that* naughty this year
Santa is just screwing with you
What Will Be In Your Christmas Stocking?
Those last two are kind of contradictory...
OOP, I almost forgot!
Grades for the term are in! Straight As! I can't believe it. Cultural Diversity was a matter of rounding too! I was 94.58% - and with the way my instructor rounds, there was a decent possibility that I could have got a 94% (A-) -- but she did round up! w00t! Three of my Fall Quarter goals did make it, I'm happy!
Also, I managed to make two CD-coasters today. Grrr. Damn overburning with Prince of Tennis...
Jessica... You asked for it...
Dad just dumped the mail in front of me... And one of the letters was the "We wish to thank you for your interest...." but you suck! letters... Hahaha... Ahhh ~sigh.
It was a total "Dear John (I mean, Daniel), you're not going to be an RA for Winter quarter" letter. I'm now wondering why I didn't get the position... Maybe I'm just not cut out for being an RA? Everyone does know that I freak out when I get stressed, and RA is so very stressful... I know *anon_ra_here* said that the selection was down to me and a few other guys (three or four), and it was likly to be a "name out of a hat" choice at that point.
Hmmm, I dunno ~~ myestery. I'm not sure if I'll apply anymore... There's a small chance that a position could open up for spring quarter (mayyyyybe I'll apply in that situation), but if not, it's not likely. Fall quarter '06 (maybe winter quarter '07) is my last quarter, and it would just be stupid to go through all that training just to leave so soon. And being an RA in my last quarter would suck anyway.
Bright side: I won't have to return to college Jan. 3, nor will I have to come up with three programs in the next few weeks!