Crazy Circles + GRE Adventures Part II of II: Let's Panic Edition
HAH. GRE, I have smote you. You likely don't actually matter much getting into grad programs in the field in which I am entering, and have what is probably only negligible potential to help me get financial aid, so trying terribly hard to get a particularly good score is probably pointless, but if I have to put my effort into studying for something I'm going to put my effort in goshdarnit because I can't help it and now you're over and I can stop being silly and thank goodness for that.
Now, I am free. This makes me want to run around in crazy circles like a crazy person, doing nothing but lazy and/or fun things, especially with Yaoi-con in just a few weeks, the perfect amount of time to take a break from responsibility for a while and build up some crazy, only not actually because grad school applications would best not wait till then. T_T
Though really though. Really when one is about to spend large buckets of money to go to another city to attend a yaoi convention, it is surely the best use of one's money (and therefore the responsible thing) to make sure one maximizes the enjoyment potential of their time/dollars spent there. So making sure I've educated myself in all current yaoi-fan-interest series (at least the ones I was going to watch at some point anyway) NOW is really the responsible thing to do. Therefore, I have watched No. 6 and the third season of Natsume Yuujinchou.
*extended keyboard smash of happiness*
...Though actually No. 6 (which I have also read most of the novel translations available of, as well as the novel summaries now too ^_^;) while clearly capable of garnering my enthusiasm...still...conflicts me XD; But this is a rant for another blog post. And then Natsume...while undoubtedly yaoi-fan-interest isn't really the kind of fandom to be terribly big or prevalent at a con, is it? ^_^; (Indeed, last year when I tried to look for doujin for it they were THERE-which is more than I can say for pretty much any other fandom I'd have been interested in doujin from-but actually most of them were gen! Which is nice and all but...Natsume and Tanuma act nearly gay together in canon all the time, bless their little over-earnest hearts. Let's see at least some further exploration of hithero unattainable levels of human intimacy, boys.) But...these were the things I was interested in. *harrumphs*
T-Though speaking of places my fannish heart will never find satisfaction, you don't suppose now that Heart of Thomas is licensed (alsjd;alskjd <3) that once it comes out there won't be even just maybe one person out in English speaking fandom who will write some Oscar/Julie fic??? T_T *sniff* ...Is it silly I'm a little sad the whole thing is coming out in a single volume just cause I think having to pause in parts of the story between chapters/volumes tends to make plot bunnies manifest in people more often keheheh?
If life is kind and generous, I may even be able to (after itinerary planning, eye appointment, hair cut, Halloween costume preparation, meeting with friend to discuss how her Burning Man trip went (oh, radical acceptance. Yet I get the feeling if I wanted to/actually had the ability to go nuts and let out The Real Me, I'd feel a lot more accepted at Yaoi-con than Burning Man, no matter what they say XD), and grad school application stuff, there's this little hope in me that maybe I can get to translating more Shinkuu again? ^_^;;;
And that is Me Right Now.
...You know, I have no idea who I am writing this to. There is no interesting information here. XD I feel compelled to update on the state of my life/days, which made sense when my blog was watched by old RL friends/the sort of people who wanted to hear from me even if I had nothing interesting to say and didn't keep in contact with me through other venues, but the feeling of obligation hasn't diminished (or...comes and goes as usual) even when this was created as a fannish journal (shamefully hidden from those RL friends who now barely hear from me XD;;;), even if the daily life trends related tend to be on the fannish daily life side of things.
...Truthfully, I have suspicion that the main audience the back of my mind is semi-consciously writing to is some Future Me who got bored one evening and decided to go back and look how much of a dope she was 20 orwhathaveyou years ago. (Come to think of it, a “journal” being written for yourself probably shouldn't be such a startling concept, should it? But...it seems rather old fashioned. SUCH ANTIQUITY! XD;)
With that in mind, Dear Future Me, I still haven't told you how taking the GRE went. Do you remember how GRE test day went, Future Me?
GRE testing day guides like to emphasize that one should dress in layers so that one may, if needed, shed the various skins to reach personal optimal test taking temperature. And to tell the truth, I do think I recall being uncomfortably cold during my taking of the SAT back before college.
So I had a nice zipper sweater good and ready for this purpose, along with my pineapple snack (complementing so well my breakfast of egg rolls) and multiple forms of photo identification (neither of which look like me. My brother bursts out laughing every time he sees my driver's license. a guy tried to not sell me alcohol once because of it. ...or not so much tried as sat there looking helpless and repeating "this really doesn't look like you..." while staring at me like I should be agreeing with him or something, so I did. ("no, you're right, it doesn't.") it didn't really solve his problem, and after a couple more repeats of this he just gave it back and let me leave with my box of wine).
And of course, in my slightly rickety nerves, I only noticed my zipper sweater hadn't thought to grow legs and come with me till I was in my car half way to the testing center. And it wasn't like I couldn't rush back and get it, or call someone at home to drop it off at the center for me while I filled out paperwork, but it's not like it was really that important, right? I mean, they wouldn't turn the air conditioning on so high my fingers froze to the keyboard before I could finish showing off how I now totally know what the word vituperate means, would they? ...Would they?
Only the end of that thought process saw me pulling into the test center, and there was no going back. But since half of the stuff that goes into my car never actually makes it out again, I started casting about for something that might serve in my sweater's stead. I saw only one thing that might work:
Towels.
They'd been in my car for a little over a year, left over from a huckleberry picking trip where my parents had covered the seats to keep them clean from the dust that flies up into the car from the mountain roads. Since then, I'd pulled them out occasionally to picnic on the lawn outside work if the ground was too damp and muddy to sit on. One was blue, absolutely gigantic, had a large ragged hole in it, and was relatively clean. The other was of a much more acceptable size, white, and absolutely filthy.
I debated it a while, running pictures of myself doing my impending activities-walking into the test center, talking to the test proctors, waiting my turn with my fellow test takers, sitting at my testing cubicle, eating pineapple during my break-while mentally swapping my outer draping options through each image. Did blue or white look more like I was screaming for attention? Did the presence or absence of dirt or holes increase or decrease the impression I had mental and/or nerve issues? It was hard to say. If I was a different sort of person, I may have started to panic.
But in the end, I went without, and the temperature was fine. The only effect the whole experience really had on me was that I was semi-giggly after leaving my car through the first third or so of the test.
You see, that was when it really started to sink in just how Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy the whole thing was.
(After realizing that, part of me was, of course, MORE inclined to take a towel with me, but that would surely have resulted in the silliness of my mood maintaining itself even longer, and would probably not have been good for my performance.)
...As for how the actual test went, I dunno, I don't get my scores till some time in November since I was a cheapskate and took the test while it was newly changed and discounted while they still sort out their scoring methods XDDD It gave me a rough estimate which looked quite favorable. Pretty much something really bizarre would have to happen with the scoring to make my scores anywhere close to not being well within the range schools require, like the test center blowing up or something. Or, you know, like if they found out that the reason my ID doesn't look like me is because I'm actually, as discussed, a chimpanzee. All's well that ends well? ^_^;
Now, I am free. This makes me want to run around in crazy circles like a crazy person, doing nothing but lazy and/or fun things, especially with Yaoi-con in just a few weeks, the perfect amount of time to take a break from responsibility for a while and build up some crazy, only not actually because grad school applications would best not wait till then. T_T
Though really though. Really when one is about to spend large buckets of money to go to another city to attend a yaoi convention, it is surely the best use of one's money (and therefore the responsible thing) to make sure one maximizes the enjoyment potential of their time/dollars spent there. So making sure I've educated myself in all current yaoi-fan-interest series (at least the ones I was going to watch at some point anyway) NOW is really the responsible thing to do. Therefore, I have watched No. 6 and the third season of Natsume Yuujinchou.
*extended keyboard smash of happiness*
...Though actually No. 6 (which I have also read most of the novel translations available of, as well as the novel summaries now too ^_^;) while clearly capable of garnering my enthusiasm...still...conflicts me XD; But this is a rant for another blog post. And then Natsume...while undoubtedly yaoi-fan-interest isn't really the kind of fandom to be terribly big or prevalent at a con, is it? ^_^; (Indeed, last year when I tried to look for doujin for it they were THERE-which is more than I can say for pretty much any other fandom I'd have been interested in doujin from-but actually most of them were gen! Which is nice and all but...Natsume and Tanuma act nearly gay together in canon all the time, bless their little over-earnest hearts. Let's see at least some further exploration of hithero unattainable levels of human intimacy, boys.) But...these were the things I was interested in. *harrumphs*
T-Though speaking of places my fannish heart will never find satisfaction, you don't suppose now that Heart of Thomas is licensed (alsjd;alskjd <3) that once it comes out there won't be even just maybe one person out in English speaking fandom who will write some Oscar/Julie fic??? T_T *sniff* ...Is it silly I'm a little sad the whole thing is coming out in a single volume just cause I think having to pause in parts of the story between chapters/volumes tends to make plot bunnies manifest in people more often keheheh?
If life is kind and generous, I may even be able to (after itinerary planning, eye appointment, hair cut, Halloween costume preparation, meeting with friend to discuss how her Burning Man trip went (oh, radical acceptance. Yet I get the feeling if I wanted to/actually had the ability to go nuts and let out The Real Me, I'd feel a lot more accepted at Yaoi-con than Burning Man, no matter what they say XD), and grad school application stuff, there's this little hope in me that maybe I can get to translating more Shinkuu again? ^_^;;;
And that is Me Right Now.
...You know, I have no idea who I am writing this to. There is no interesting information here. XD I feel compelled to update on the state of my life/days, which made sense when my blog was watched by old RL friends/the sort of people who wanted to hear from me even if I had nothing interesting to say and didn't keep in contact with me through other venues, but the feeling of obligation hasn't diminished (or...comes and goes as usual) even when this was created as a fannish journal (shamefully hidden from those RL friends who now barely hear from me XD;;;), even if the daily life trends related tend to be on the fannish daily life side of things.
...Truthfully, I have suspicion that the main audience the back of my mind is semi-consciously writing to is some Future Me who got bored one evening and decided to go back and look how much of a dope she was 20 orwhathaveyou years ago. (Come to think of it, a “journal” being written for yourself probably shouldn't be such a startling concept, should it? But...it seems rather old fashioned. SUCH ANTIQUITY! XD;)
With that in mind, Dear Future Me, I still haven't told you how taking the GRE went. Do you remember how GRE test day went, Future Me?
GRE testing day guides like to emphasize that one should dress in layers so that one may, if needed, shed the various skins to reach personal optimal test taking temperature. And to tell the truth, I do think I recall being uncomfortably cold during my taking of the SAT back before college.
So I had a nice zipper sweater good and ready for this purpose, along with my pineapple snack (complementing so well my breakfast of egg rolls) and multiple forms of photo identification (neither of which look like me. My brother bursts out laughing every time he sees my driver's license. a guy tried to not sell me alcohol once because of it. ...or not so much tried as sat there looking helpless and repeating "this really doesn't look like you..." while staring at me like I should be agreeing with him or something, so I did. ("no, you're right, it doesn't.") it didn't really solve his problem, and after a couple more repeats of this he just gave it back and let me leave with my box of wine).
And of course, in my slightly rickety nerves, I only noticed my zipper sweater hadn't thought to grow legs and come with me till I was in my car half way to the testing center. And it wasn't like I couldn't rush back and get it, or call someone at home to drop it off at the center for me while I filled out paperwork, but it's not like it was really that important, right? I mean, they wouldn't turn the air conditioning on so high my fingers froze to the keyboard before I could finish showing off how I now totally know what the word vituperate means, would they? ...Would they?
Only the end of that thought process saw me pulling into the test center, and there was no going back. But since half of the stuff that goes into my car never actually makes it out again, I started casting about for something that might serve in my sweater's stead. I saw only one thing that might work:
Towels.
They'd been in my car for a little over a year, left over from a huckleberry picking trip where my parents had covered the seats to keep them clean from the dust that flies up into the car from the mountain roads. Since then, I'd pulled them out occasionally to picnic on the lawn outside work if the ground was too damp and muddy to sit on. One was blue, absolutely gigantic, had a large ragged hole in it, and was relatively clean. The other was of a much more acceptable size, white, and absolutely filthy.
I debated it a while, running pictures of myself doing my impending activities-walking into the test center, talking to the test proctors, waiting my turn with my fellow test takers, sitting at my testing cubicle, eating pineapple during my break-while mentally swapping my outer draping options through each image. Did blue or white look more like I was screaming for attention? Did the presence or absence of dirt or holes increase or decrease the impression I had mental and/or nerve issues? It was hard to say. If I was a different sort of person, I may have started to panic.
But in the end, I went without, and the temperature was fine. The only effect the whole experience really had on me was that I was semi-giggly after leaving my car through the first third or so of the test.
You see, that was when it really started to sink in just how Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy the whole thing was.
(After realizing that, part of me was, of course, MORE inclined to take a towel with me, but that would surely have resulted in the silliness of my mood maintaining itself even longer, and would probably not have been good for my performance.)
...As for how the actual test went, I dunno, I don't get my scores till some time in November since I was a cheapskate and took the test while it was newly changed and discounted while they still sort out their scoring methods XDDD It gave me a rough estimate which looked quite favorable. Pretty much something really bizarre would have to happen with the scoring to make my scores anywhere close to not being well within the range schools require, like the test center blowing up or something. Or, you know, like if they found out that the reason my ID doesn't look like me is because I'm actually, as discussed, a chimpanzee. All's well that ends well? ^_^;