Eh heh...
I've got to get around to updating more often... I've been way too lazy about it lately. :x Although, I can say that I've been really busy these past few days, so hopefully that'll pass as a pretty good excuse.
First of all, I'm still trying to get over the fact that Yuki (my Japanese pen-pal) will actually be here in a little over a week! I've been trying to get a few things ready, such as a gift bag for her, before she gets here... but gosh, I'm still kind of nervous about a few things. It'll probably end up being totally different from when Melissa visited, since there's going to be a pretty big language barrier between us. XD However, I've been working quite fiercely on learning how to speak a few Japanese phrases, so I'm hoping that will help out enough! Since I do have two different books that teach the language, I'll always be able to look any words up just in case we get confused.
Other than that, I'm looking forward to it so much. ♥ I sent her a few brochures to look through the other day, and we've kept in touch and made plans through e-mail, so I think that everything will go smoothly. At the moment she really likes the idea of going to Six Flags, so I'm sure that'll be one of the places that we visit, and I'll recommend a few others such as the Dallas World Aquarium and the zoo. (She said that she wanted to see some animals, so those two places would be perfect to go to!) Medieval Times would be totally awesome, as well. The Switchfoot concert will be a no-go this time because she won't be able to change her flight plans, and... my mom didn't argue with that, lol. Aww. Maybe they'll come here to perform some other time.
So, most of my time lately has been spent babysitting and shopping. One day, about two or three weeks ago, I went with my family to a nearby city just to hang out at the mall and stuff. At the bookstore I found the seventh (last) volume of the Full Moon wo Sagashite manga. I was completely stunned because I didn't know that it had already come out here yet! But of course, I snatched it up immediately because I've read all of the other books and was wondering how it ended. In a way, however, it made me really depressed to actually buy it... because I wasn't ready for it to end so soon. It's one of the very best series of all time, but the manga is way too short! I know that everything fits together perfectly in the end, but I've still been left wanting to read more.
Anyway, I read it from beginning to end the night that we got home (even though it was late) because I was so anxious to know what happened. All that I'll say is... I don't think that I've ever cried so much in my entire life. T__T Gah, there were some parts that were just so sad, especially the ones that were related to Mitsuki and Eichi. It may only be because I'm a huge fan of the pairing, or I was just in an emotional mood, but I sat on my bed and sobbed myself to death while reading the whole thing. Arina Tanemura has such an amazing ability to portray emotions through her drawings and everything that she writes. It really gets to you, especially when the series has many sad parts such as this one. And, even though there are some things that I'd like to change about the ending... it was still really good, although bittersweet. It moved me so much. Everyone needs to read--and watch--this series!
There's one more thing that I have to mention, and then I've got to go to bed. On a different day when I went to the same city with my grandfather and brother, I found two other things that I absolutely had to get. The most surprising was the first one. We were at Best Buy, and I was walking down one of the aisles (I was actually looking for the Full Moon wo Sagashite DVDs, since I haven't been able to find them). I passed a section where the boxsets of different series are kept, and even though I normally don't bother looking at them, I happened to glance over that time and something caught my eye. It was the very first thing that I saw... The entire 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice miniseries, which I've been wanting to see for so long! I completely freaked out, because I figured that it could only be bought in England. I just had to buy it, along with the Landon Pigg CD that I found. (Yay!) I've almost finished watching all of the episodes on the first disc, and so far they've been awesome. It has been so neat because the series follows everything that happens in the book almost exactly, and I've been able to learn so much more about the characters. I still love the 2005 movie with a passion, but due to the length of it, many things that actually happened in the book were not included. They still make it work wonderfully, but it's nice being able to become more familiar with the story. Both versions are perfect in their own way, though!
Well, I've really got to go now. Sorry that some parts in this entry sound kind of weird, but I'm being really rushed to get off and start getting ready for bed. I'll try to update at least one more time before Yuki gets here. :3 Bye for now!
First of all, I'm still trying to get over the fact that Yuki (my Japanese pen-pal) will actually be here in a little over a week! I've been trying to get a few things ready, such as a gift bag for her, before she gets here... but gosh, I'm still kind of nervous about a few things. It'll probably end up being totally different from when Melissa visited, since there's going to be a pretty big language barrier between us. XD However, I've been working quite fiercely on learning how to speak a few Japanese phrases, so I'm hoping that will help out enough! Since I do have two different books that teach the language, I'll always be able to look any words up just in case we get confused.
Other than that, I'm looking forward to it so much. ♥ I sent her a few brochures to look through the other day, and we've kept in touch and made plans through e-mail, so I think that everything will go smoothly. At the moment she really likes the idea of going to Six Flags, so I'm sure that'll be one of the places that we visit, and I'll recommend a few others such as the Dallas World Aquarium and the zoo. (She said that she wanted to see some animals, so those two places would be perfect to go to!) Medieval Times would be totally awesome, as well. The Switchfoot concert will be a no-go this time because she won't be able to change her flight plans, and... my mom didn't argue with that, lol. Aww. Maybe they'll come here to perform some other time.
So, most of my time lately has been spent babysitting and shopping. One day, about two or three weeks ago, I went with my family to a nearby city just to hang out at the mall and stuff. At the bookstore I found the seventh (last) volume of the Full Moon wo Sagashite manga. I was completely stunned because I didn't know that it had already come out here yet! But of course, I snatched it up immediately because I've read all of the other books and was wondering how it ended. In a way, however, it made me really depressed to actually buy it... because I wasn't ready for it to end so soon. It's one of the very best series of all time, but the manga is way too short! I know that everything fits together perfectly in the end, but I've still been left wanting to read more.
Anyway, I read it from beginning to end the night that we got home (even though it was late) because I was so anxious to know what happened. All that I'll say is... I don't think that I've ever cried so much in my entire life. T__T Gah, there were some parts that were just so sad, especially the ones that were related to Mitsuki and Eichi. It may only be because I'm a huge fan of the pairing, or I was just in an emotional mood, but I sat on my bed and sobbed myself to death while reading the whole thing. Arina Tanemura has such an amazing ability to portray emotions through her drawings and everything that she writes. It really gets to you, especially when the series has many sad parts such as this one. And, even though there are some things that I'd like to change about the ending... it was still really good, although bittersweet. It moved me so much. Everyone needs to read--and watch--this series!
There's one more thing that I have to mention, and then I've got to go to bed. On a different day when I went to the same city with my grandfather and brother, I found two other things that I absolutely had to get. The most surprising was the first one. We were at Best Buy, and I was walking down one of the aisles (I was actually looking for the Full Moon wo Sagashite DVDs, since I haven't been able to find them). I passed a section where the boxsets of different series are kept, and even though I normally don't bother looking at them, I happened to glance over that time and something caught my eye. It was the very first thing that I saw... The entire 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice miniseries, which I've been wanting to see for so long! I completely freaked out, because I figured that it could only be bought in England. I just had to buy it, along with the Landon Pigg CD that I found. (Yay!) I've almost finished watching all of the episodes on the first disc, and so far they've been awesome. It has been so neat because the series follows everything that happens in the book almost exactly, and I've been able to learn so much more about the characters. I still love the 2005 movie with a passion, but due to the length of it, many things that actually happened in the book were not included. They still make it work wonderfully, but it's nice being able to become more familiar with the story. Both versions are perfect in their own way, though!
Well, I've really got to go now. Sorry that some parts in this entry sound kind of weird, but I'm being really rushed to get off and start getting ready for bed. I'll try to update at least one more time before Yuki gets here. :3 Bye for now!