Long Entry is LONG (hence half a dozen cuts)
I should really update this more. So much to say and I keep forgetting to note it down. Not sure where to start, so I'll just go randomly I guess.
YFC Europe DVD
I love it I love it I love it! I love seeing so much downtime and all of them all relaxed and having fun. It's a nice balance to the constant exhausted reports and seeing moron collapsed after a show. Some great moments there - like the one lady in France who was checking him out (or his ass, rather XD), Taya trying to hitchhike (knew that wouldn't work) and him getting admonished by G afterwards, girl-seeing in Spain, eating in Spain, both times Taya and CRAZY D were forced to eat spicy stuff, getting stopped by police in Munich, and of course G's english. Compared to the TIFF event it was a far better example of his skill, though to be fair he was pretty nervous at TIFF (still pissed that NO ONE aired any of the interviews he did!!!!). YOU's french was pretty good too, and I still chuckle over the idiot translator's french fail. He's not saying "jutem" even though it kinds of sound like it - he's saying "je t'aime". Not as bad a flub as say the other infamous one, but a flub all the same. And no offense G, but I find YOU's limited french much easier to understand than yours XD When he spoke french on that cooking show, all I caught was madamoiselle. Everything else was gibberish to me XD Sorry G, practice harder. I'll help if you'd like ;)
Plannar
I got my 2011 diary from shinimegami21 awhile ago! I made a booboo and realized I gave her my old addy by mistake, but those fuckers at the post office misplaced the package. Wasn't worried about getting it but the lady at the post office was just as perplexed that it wasn't where it was supposed to be, especially as the computer acknowledged that it was in the office and filed where it was supposed to be. She found it later that night, and I picked it up the next day, but I was worried for a bit. But now it's in my possession where it belongs, so thank you again dear :) and hope things are okay for you. I am using it, by the way, but very carefully. I put it on my keyboard drawer which is slid under the desk to protect it from getting wet (my desk faces the kitchen counter, so I sometimes get sprinkled by water). And instead of writing in it, I got little stickynote pads which I use instead. I use the week by week section, so there's enough space for them. I make it work :) And when the year's up it will go on my GACKT shelf with everything else ^_^
Broke it
I broke two toes last Sunday. OMG it was the stupidest thing in the world XD My mom had JUST left to go visit her sister, so I was home alone. One of Dalila's toys was beside my desk and I thought I would kick the toy away to start a game of fetch. Well my aim was more than terrible, because I caught the desk with my right foot, specifically the two last toes. And I really put a lot of power in that kick. Now, I usually have a pretty good pain tolerance - not that I don't feel pain, but I get over it pretty quickly and can tolerate it without much obvious discomfort. This had me doubled over in pain on the chair for five minutes. It just would not subside. Swelled up really fast, and throughout last week changed all sorts of interesting colours. And walking? Oh fun times XD Just taking Dalila for a pee saw me hobbling along behind her. I think though if Mom had been home, we would have been laughing ourselves silly because it really was that stupid. She's pretty sure both those toes are broken now, but they don't look it so I'm not too concerned. Right now only the little toe sort of hurts, and it pops funny when I try and flex it. Otherwise I'm pretty much back to normal state now. Note to self though, no more toy kicking unless I am away from stationary objects.
Bracelets anyone?
Yes I'm making bracelets! Gemstone bracelets! I always sort of planned to do this and was oogling gemstone beads for quite some time, and last week I got some unexpected money. Not much, but enough to put in an order for some beads. I ordered these five to start with:
From top to bottom, left to right they are: Blue Goldstone, Amethyst, Rose Quartz, Black Tourmaline and Ruby in Zoisite. I picked stones that had some meaning to me, but the Ruby I also picked because it's just gorgeous. If my calculations are right (and I hope so, I was born without a calculator in my head XD), a 16in string of 8mm beads yields about 50 beads a string. Only the Ruby is not 8mm, but 6-7mm so I may get a few more on that one, but they should still give me either 12 or 13 bracelets. Pretty good for a start! Once I get the beads which should be soon, I'll have the bracelets up for sale. I'm thinking somewhere between $30-$40 is a reasonable price. Ordering by email is a PITA but I have no credit card to use. Should have asked my dad for his. Ah well. I had to get the amount straightened out though, because the total they quoted me didn't match the amounts they gave me. It was just an error and they fixed it right away, so I'm still impressed with these guys :) Though this got me thinking about the h-darts bracelets, the bead ones. Now that G and them are no longer collaborating it got me thinking about the merits of replicas. I wanted that sixgem so badly and was looking forward to eventually having the cash to order it. Which is now no longer possible (nevermind the other stuff on my wishlist). Now if h-darts was still carrying those bracelets I wouldn't even be considering replicas because as expensive as the bracelets were I wasn't going to go near that road. Not even close lookalikes. Since they're not, it's kind of blurred that line for me now. I mean, the likelihood of getting in trouble might be lower now that there's nobody I'm 'stealing' from and I'm sure more darts stuff (including those bracelets) will start surfacing on ebay now. However, we don't know what G has planned (if anything) regarding those designs, and whether darts would still have the authority to go after me for something they no longer offer. I guess my biggest concern is who technically owns the designs. I don't want to steal from anyone, but I'm sure I'm not the only fan bummed out that I'm now unable to get any of them, much less the one I really wanted. It's murky murky waters, but as of right now they're not going on my eventual list, not even privately. I'd appreciate you guys weighing in on your thoughts over it. I suppose I could always ask G about it too, how he feels and whether it's an idea to consider or not.
en francais?
I started my new project! Inspired some by the YFC DVD, I decided to pick up french again. We had to learn it in school but I stopped after it was no longer mandatory and now I wish I hadn't. So I thought hey, why not translate G stuff into french and learn that way? So I did: gacktenfrancais. I have so much stuff planned to translate I think I'm good for the next five years lol. I'm going to tackle all of his blogs and the GACKTionary, and possibly song lyrics as well. I have to finish translating the profile into french too. And add some tags. hanachan007 has graciously offered to check my french for me until I start improving my skill. Thank you dear! I owe you so much! I hope you guys will join the comm, if only to cheer me on. So far my writing skill is about 50%, which is better than I thought it would be. Grammar was always my demon.
Gakupo Cosplay
I'm really digging the new pic of G for the new singles! I love that the wig is subtle and the whole outfit is more subtle than the actual Gakupo, I just feel it suits more. Like it's Gakupo 2.0. I'll be a little honest though, I kind of get and don't get the disappointment over it. One, it's not the first song he's done that wasn't one he wrote and composed himself and I can understand that taking some of the wind out of the sales, but he's never been the type of artist to bow to any sort of commercial pressure when it comes to music. And really there's nothing wrong with an artist covering a song they like - many of them do it. So I don't really see why some fans treat it as a huge terrible event that he's covering someone else's song - and yes I realize not everyone's seeing it that way :). I can see the disappointment though. I was and still kind of am bummed that the english version of Mind Forest was done by a translator and not him. Though now I wonder how much was the translator and how much was him to be honest, if it was like 50/50 or if it was just a matter of him coming up with attempts and the translator sort of checked it over. I don't know, maybe it's because I love that song so much the idea that he translated the whole thing into english himself really touched my heart and I truly believe his english skills are good enough that he coud have pulled it off. But maybe there wasn't enough time. Maybe he wanted to be sure it was absolutely perfect and brought in a second pair of eyes to ensure that. I don't know and I'm not judging. It's still beautiful and he still sounds amazing singing it, and I pray that he'll keep it in the setlist when he comes to Canada. I'm still very much looking forward to this though, new music is new music :) I'm going to soon need more shelves... And I still find it hilarious that he's essentially cosplaying himself ^_^ That would almost be like Steve Burton cosplaying as Cloud, or Steve Blum cosplaying as Vincent Valentine.
Overachieving Nephew
The little one is 3 and a half months old now, and either is too long for some clothes or too short for others. Baggy looks cuter on him :) His monkey sweater sill fits, and I'm going to try and get a picture of him in it before he outgrows it. It has monkey ears on the hood and a little monkey in the front pocket ^_^ He's still trying to sit up on his own (been trying for a month) and get this: he's walking. Not on his own mind you, but that little turkey is actually taking steps! Already! If you hold him around his torso facing you but at your arm's length, he'll slowly put one foot in front of the other and actually move toward you! Mom and my sis are like 'you're not supposed to be doing that!' but I encourage him. Hey if he wants to walk at five months, Auntie's going to let him! We had an almost fun outing on Saturday with him too. We picked him and my sis up, then went up to my friend's store which I haven't been to in so long. It was nice seeing her again :) Nephew just stared at everything with the biggest eyes possible, and smiled when my friend fussed over him. Sis says he'll always smile at a girl, but guys he just kind of stares at haha. And he does plenty of smiling now. The store is so amazing, and she had all sorts of new goodies to oogle over and wish I had money for. When I do get the money, I'm buying every one of you one of the party candles. I can't take you to the store, but I can bring a bit of the store to you. Afterwards we went to William's Cafe by the pier for lunch but that was nephew's limit and after he woke up all he did was fuss and cry. And I laughed at my sister, because I'm sympathetic like that ;) Next time we'll throw a nap inbetween though, he's happier after a sleep and a bottle. Still love being an auntie, and he's not growing up too fast yet. I'm sure in a year I'll be like 'where did the baby go?!'. Enjoy the time while it lasts. And for anyone who missed it, I posted an entry with the prints here (locked to friends).
What to do
I have these on my desk:
My coin boxes (as evidenced by the coins which would make G turn away XD). One I plan to use to save up for stuff I want, though I forsee much of that going to G anyway, and the other will be my when-YFC-comes-to-Toronto fund (since really, I doubt so much he'll come here. My city = overlooked even though we're more awesome). But they're very boring in colour, and I'm not sure what to do with them. They feel like they're made from the same kind of wood as popsicle sticks so I'm sure they'd hold paint well. Not sure what else I could do, I'm very unimaginative right now. Any ideas?
YFC Europe DVD
I love it I love it I love it! I love seeing so much downtime and all of them all relaxed and having fun. It's a nice balance to the constant exhausted reports and seeing moron collapsed after a show. Some great moments there - like the one lady in France who was checking him out (or his ass, rather XD), Taya trying to hitchhike (knew that wouldn't work) and him getting admonished by G afterwards, girl-seeing in Spain, eating in Spain, both times Taya and CRAZY D were forced to eat spicy stuff, getting stopped by police in Munich, and of course G's english. Compared to the TIFF event it was a far better example of his skill, though to be fair he was pretty nervous at TIFF (still pissed that NO ONE aired any of the interviews he did!!!!). YOU's french was pretty good too, and I still chuckle over the idiot translator's french fail. He's not saying "jutem" even though it kinds of sound like it - he's saying "je t'aime". Not as bad a flub as say the other infamous one, but a flub all the same. And no offense G, but I find YOU's limited french much easier to understand than yours XD When he spoke french on that cooking show, all I caught was madamoiselle. Everything else was gibberish to me XD Sorry G, practice harder. I'll help if you'd like ;)
Plannar
I got my 2011 diary from shinimegami21 awhile ago! I made a booboo and realized I gave her my old addy by mistake, but those fuckers at the post office misplaced the package. Wasn't worried about getting it but the lady at the post office was just as perplexed that it wasn't where it was supposed to be, especially as the computer acknowledged that it was in the office and filed where it was supposed to be. She found it later that night, and I picked it up the next day, but I was worried for a bit. But now it's in my possession where it belongs, so thank you again dear :) and hope things are okay for you. I am using it, by the way, but very carefully. I put it on my keyboard drawer which is slid under the desk to protect it from getting wet (my desk faces the kitchen counter, so I sometimes get sprinkled by water). And instead of writing in it, I got little stickynote pads which I use instead. I use the week by week section, so there's enough space for them. I make it work :) And when the year's up it will go on my GACKT shelf with everything else ^_^
Broke it
I broke two toes last Sunday. OMG it was the stupidest thing in the world XD My mom had JUST left to go visit her sister, so I was home alone. One of Dalila's toys was beside my desk and I thought I would kick the toy away to start a game of fetch. Well my aim was more than terrible, because I caught the desk with my right foot, specifically the two last toes. And I really put a lot of power in that kick. Now, I usually have a pretty good pain tolerance - not that I don't feel pain, but I get over it pretty quickly and can tolerate it without much obvious discomfort. This had me doubled over in pain on the chair for five minutes. It just would not subside. Swelled up really fast, and throughout last week changed all sorts of interesting colours. And walking? Oh fun times XD Just taking Dalila for a pee saw me hobbling along behind her. I think though if Mom had been home, we would have been laughing ourselves silly because it really was that stupid. She's pretty sure both those toes are broken now, but they don't look it so I'm not too concerned. Right now only the little toe sort of hurts, and it pops funny when I try and flex it. Otherwise I'm pretty much back to normal state now. Note to self though, no more toy kicking unless I am away from stationary objects.
Bracelets anyone?
Yes I'm making bracelets! Gemstone bracelets! I always sort of planned to do this and was oogling gemstone beads for quite some time, and last week I got some unexpected money. Not much, but enough to put in an order for some beads. I ordered these five to start with:
From top to bottom, left to right they are: Blue Goldstone, Amethyst, Rose Quartz, Black Tourmaline and Ruby in Zoisite. I picked stones that had some meaning to me, but the Ruby I also picked because it's just gorgeous. If my calculations are right (and I hope so, I was born without a calculator in my head XD), a 16in string of 8mm beads yields about 50 beads a string. Only the Ruby is not 8mm, but 6-7mm so I may get a few more on that one, but they should still give me either 12 or 13 bracelets. Pretty good for a start! Once I get the beads which should be soon, I'll have the bracelets up for sale. I'm thinking somewhere between $30-$40 is a reasonable price. Ordering by email is a PITA but I have no credit card to use. Should have asked my dad for his. Ah well. I had to get the amount straightened out though, because the total they quoted me didn't match the amounts they gave me. It was just an error and they fixed it right away, so I'm still impressed with these guys :) Though this got me thinking about the h-darts bracelets, the bead ones. Now that G and them are no longer collaborating it got me thinking about the merits of replicas. I wanted that sixgem so badly and was looking forward to eventually having the cash to order it. Which is now no longer possible (nevermind the other stuff on my wishlist). Now if h-darts was still carrying those bracelets I wouldn't even be considering replicas because as expensive as the bracelets were I wasn't going to go near that road. Not even close lookalikes. Since they're not, it's kind of blurred that line for me now. I mean, the likelihood of getting in trouble might be lower now that there's nobody I'm 'stealing' from and I'm sure more darts stuff (including those bracelets) will start surfacing on ebay now. However, we don't know what G has planned (if anything) regarding those designs, and whether darts would still have the authority to go after me for something they no longer offer. I guess my biggest concern is who technically owns the designs. I don't want to steal from anyone, but I'm sure I'm not the only fan bummed out that I'm now unable to get any of them, much less the one I really wanted. It's murky murky waters, but as of right now they're not going on my eventual list, not even privately. I'd appreciate you guys weighing in on your thoughts over it. I suppose I could always ask G about it too, how he feels and whether it's an idea to consider or not.
en francais?
I started my new project! Inspired some by the YFC DVD, I decided to pick up french again. We had to learn it in school but I stopped after it was no longer mandatory and now I wish I hadn't. So I thought hey, why not translate G stuff into french and learn that way? So I did: gacktenfrancais. I have so much stuff planned to translate I think I'm good for the next five years lol. I'm going to tackle all of his blogs and the GACKTionary, and possibly song lyrics as well. I have to finish translating the profile into french too. And add some tags. hanachan007 has graciously offered to check my french for me until I start improving my skill. Thank you dear! I owe you so much! I hope you guys will join the comm, if only to cheer me on. So far my writing skill is about 50%, which is better than I thought it would be. Grammar was always my demon.
Gakupo Cosplay
I'm really digging the new pic of G for the new singles! I love that the wig is subtle and the whole outfit is more subtle than the actual Gakupo, I just feel it suits more. Like it's Gakupo 2.0. I'll be a little honest though, I kind of get and don't get the disappointment over it. One, it's not the first song he's done that wasn't one he wrote and composed himself and I can understand that taking some of the wind out of the sales, but he's never been the type of artist to bow to any sort of commercial pressure when it comes to music. And really there's nothing wrong with an artist covering a song they like - many of them do it. So I don't really see why some fans treat it as a huge terrible event that he's covering someone else's song - and yes I realize not everyone's seeing it that way :). I can see the disappointment though. I was and still kind of am bummed that the english version of Mind Forest was done by a translator and not him. Though now I wonder how much was the translator and how much was him to be honest, if it was like 50/50 or if it was just a matter of him coming up with attempts and the translator sort of checked it over. I don't know, maybe it's because I love that song so much the idea that he translated the whole thing into english himself really touched my heart and I truly believe his english skills are good enough that he coud have pulled it off. But maybe there wasn't enough time. Maybe he wanted to be sure it was absolutely perfect and brought in a second pair of eyes to ensure that. I don't know and I'm not judging. It's still beautiful and he still sounds amazing singing it, and I pray that he'll keep it in the setlist when he comes to Canada. I'm still very much looking forward to this though, new music is new music :) I'm going to soon need more shelves... And I still find it hilarious that he's essentially cosplaying himself ^_^ That would almost be like Steve Burton cosplaying as Cloud, or Steve Blum cosplaying as Vincent Valentine.
Overachieving Nephew
The little one is 3 and a half months old now, and either is too long for some clothes or too short for others. Baggy looks cuter on him :) His monkey sweater sill fits, and I'm going to try and get a picture of him in it before he outgrows it. It has monkey ears on the hood and a little monkey in the front pocket ^_^ He's still trying to sit up on his own (been trying for a month) and get this: he's walking. Not on his own mind you, but that little turkey is actually taking steps! Already! If you hold him around his torso facing you but at your arm's length, he'll slowly put one foot in front of the other and actually move toward you! Mom and my sis are like 'you're not supposed to be doing that!' but I encourage him. Hey if he wants to walk at five months, Auntie's going to let him! We had an almost fun outing on Saturday with him too. We picked him and my sis up, then went up to my friend's store which I haven't been to in so long. It was nice seeing her again :) Nephew just stared at everything with the biggest eyes possible, and smiled when my friend fussed over him. Sis says he'll always smile at a girl, but guys he just kind of stares at haha. And he does plenty of smiling now. The store is so amazing, and she had all sorts of new goodies to oogle over and wish I had money for. When I do get the money, I'm buying every one of you one of the party candles. I can't take you to the store, but I can bring a bit of the store to you. Afterwards we went to William's Cafe by the pier for lunch but that was nephew's limit and after he woke up all he did was fuss and cry. And I laughed at my sister, because I'm sympathetic like that ;) Next time we'll throw a nap inbetween though, he's happier after a sleep and a bottle. Still love being an auntie, and he's not growing up too fast yet. I'm sure in a year I'll be like 'where did the baby go?!'. Enjoy the time while it lasts. And for anyone who missed it, I posted an entry with the prints here (locked to friends).
What to do
I have these on my desk:
My coin boxes (as evidenced by the coins which would make G turn away XD). One I plan to use to save up for stuff I want, though I forsee much of that going to G anyway, and the other will be my when-YFC-comes-to-Toronto fund (since really, I doubt so much he'll come here. My city = overlooked even though we're more awesome). But they're very boring in colour, and I'm not sure what to do with them. They feel like they're made from the same kind of wood as popsicle sticks so I'm sure they'd hold paint well. Not sure what else I could do, I'm very unimaginative right now. Any ideas?