I am currently an Ill Girl Meganekko.

...For those who haven't seen http://tvtropes.org, that means I am sick. Yay. Headache, fever (which has gone down), chills, dizzyness (sudden movements are NOT good) and a sore throat. I don't care; I'm hanging out with

skyphoenix206 and shadow_maw tomorrow. Nothing short of a missing limb will stop me. (I am also the Determinator.)

 

It was...kind of fun. A little boring, but at least I made some friends. shadow_maw, I met a girl who's a J-Rock fan. Clearly, I must give you her email.

Just a quick update to let you all know that I'll be going off to orientation at Adelphi tomorrow. I won't be back 'till Friday afternoon, but I might be able to sneak some computer time there.

In fandom news
Samurai Seven: Chapter 20 of Second Chances is coming along slllooowwllyy. However, it will eventually be finished, once I'm done being obsessed over this awesome ff.net fic called "From Ashes Returned". It's only 4 chapter so far, but it promises Katsu/Kyuuzou and *dramatic pause*...Ukyo/Kirara. When it is updated, I will be very happy.

Girl Genius: asdfffghjkl THIS COMIC IS AWESOME. Unfortunately, it only updates Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, meaning I will be late seeing two of this week's updates (and the fandom explosions that will surely accompany them.)

In RL news
--I have to join a gym. Luckily, Adelphi has one on campus. Why do I need a gym, you ask? Because a) my thighs jiggle, b) my stomach is flabby, and c) I cannot be the Anthropomorphic Personification of Death to Groundhogs if I can hardly lift a rifle.

--My theme song is "White & Nerdy" by Weird Al Yankovic. Anybody who knows me in RL knows why.

If I don't die of boredom or 'Net withdrawal, I'll see you all on Friday!

So, I had my prom last Thursday at a place called Russo's. I'd post pictures, but...well. Obviously that wouldn't be such a great idea. I had a fake hair extension, about 5673342 bobby pins stuck into my scalp, and a lot of makeup. Seriously. We're talking "Victorian hooker" makeup here. The limo company couldn't get me the stretch Lincoln I asked for (It was only going to be me and Andy, so I didn't want a huge car), so you know what they sent instead? Guess.

A White. Stretch. Hummer. This thing was half as long as my block. I TRIPPED getting out of it. (OK, I was wearing heels at the time. So?)

So we went to the prom, took pictures outside--my grandma and my little cousin Sal were there, armed with cameras and hugs. And then we went inside, to the cocktail hour. So...much...food... I was all, "OM NOM NOM." And I took more pics with some of my friends. The actual food--salad, steak, and pasta, wasn't that great (there wasn't ENOUGH of it, for one thing), so it was a good thing I stuffed myself on the pasta and stuffed mushrooms earlier.

And then there was the dancing. I made the mistake of getting too close to the video cameras, and before I knew it, some of the tards in my Pre-Calc class were yelling for me to do my victory dance. So I did, and then? They picked me up. I was NOT HAPPY. (Crap, I'm gonna be on video!) But later I got over it. (OMG, I'm gonna be on video!)

Oh, and as for the subject of my post? The dessert hour featured a huge fondue fountain. Chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolate-covered pretzel sticks, chocolate-covered chocolate...*happy sigh* It was after one in the morning when I finally went to bed.

And the rest of the subject: I saw "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" recently. Dear George Lucas and Steven Spielberg: I do not care how great of an actress Cate Blanchett is; if you write an Indiana Jones villian that practically turns my eyes into shoujo-style hearts whenever she does anything, YOU HAVE FAILED. I should not spend most of the movie silently cheering Irena Spalko on for being awesome and so, so very fic-enabling. (She has a Russian--supposed to be Ukrainian, but it sounds Russian--accent, not to mention a really cool sword. My current fandom, Girl Genius, has sword-wielding Russian people. SOMEHOW I WILL COMBINE THEM.)

I did it! I survived! Yesterday was my last day as a senior! The first thing I did when I got home was to rip up my school uniform shirt (not the white one 

shadow_maw wrote on, the blue polo shirt underneath it). I made the bottom half of the shirt into a miniskirt and the sleeves into an armwarmer and a wrist cuff. We went PSYCHO yesterday. There was confetti everywhere, so I spent most of my day dodging sparkly confetti of doom. I kinda felt bad for the poor janitors!

Today I got my yearbook. All my senior friends signed it, and on Tuesday I'm going to the Computer Club party (of which I am president) so shadow_maw and skyphoenix206 can sign it too.

Next week on Thursday is my prom. I'm going with my friend Andy in a limo my dad rented. My dress is long and red with white flowers on a sash under the bust. All my accessories (shoes, jewelry, bag--and do you have any idea how hard it was to find the stupid bag?) match the flowers. I still have to make an appointment for my hair (the streaks I'm going to get have to blend in with the 2 huge hairpieces I'm wearing AND I have to find places to put all the sparkly hair barrettes and things I got). And my bag still hasn't arrived yet. *sigh* This is NOT going to be fun.

 

Today's my birthday. I've been so busy lately it doesn't really feel like it though. I even forgot to make up a list of what I want for my birthday until last night.

I am 18 years old.

...

18!! I can buy lotto tickets and porn and cigarettes (not that I would ever smoke, but it's the thought that counts). I'm LEGAL!! Old enough to do the things I've been thinking about doing since 10th grade! *does victory dance* Oh, and check out what shadow_mawdrew me for my birthday!


EDIT: skyphoenix206 just gave me this today!

shadow_maw, one of my best friends in real life, is going through a tough time with her mom. Her mom's a very strict evangelical Christian. shadow_mawis a huge anime, manga, and J-rock fan, and her mom thinks pretty much everything she likes (everything "worldly") is sinful. EVERYTHING. She can't listen to her beloved Gackt or show off her fanfics or cool macros or ANYTHING. And her mom won't let her go to the NY ComicCon and bring back souvenirs. Naturally, shadow_maw is miserable.

And she's one of my best friends. And I CAN'T HELP HER. I want to help her! I want to have her move into my house and hang out and play DOMO (Dream of Mirror Online) and keep her far far away from her evangelical mom...but I can't. All I can do is hug her. And buy souvenirs for her secretly. And hope for the best.

I feel useless. Here one of my best friends is going through a sucky time, and all I can do is sit around feeling sorry for myself because I don't know what else to do.

You know how on my profile page it says I'm looking for colleges? Well, I found one. And they like me.

I'm going to ADELPHI HONORS COLLEGE. W0000000t!!!

I went for an interview and spoke to the assistant dean--who's a literature teacher! And she gave me BOOKS! (Side note: one of those books is Dante's Inferno. SOMEWHERE THERE IS FIC FOR THIS. I KNOW IT. ) And then we got a letter congratulating me on my acceptance--and on the bottom, the dean added his own commentary, saying that I'd really impressed the assistant dean and that they'd love to have me at Adelphi. The dean's notes? HANDWRITTEN AND SIGNED. *squeeee*

And then we got the financial aid package. They're giving me $20,000. Per year.

EEEEEEE!!! I'M GOING TO ADELPHI!!

Not just Adelphi, either--the nerd dorm! The Honors dorm! Books and free computer access and cool teachers! I wil finally be surrounded by my fellow nerds!

...who knows? Maybe I'll meet a guy.

Thanks to the wonderful  cvalkan(for cracking the code) and hoa_dao(for telling me about it ), I now have POLKA/CHOPIN SMUT. My reaction upon getting the news was something along the lines of OMGOMGOMS *squeeeeeeee* *faint*

It is here.

Also, something very funny happened to me today in Pre-Calculus.  A dumb guy, joking around, asked me why I don't do drugs.  After some initial spluttering, my response?

"Porn is my anti-drug."

The look on his face was PRICELESS. I wish I'd had a camera.

 So, yesterday, guess what I did!

*pause, crickets chirping*

I BEAT ETERNAL SONATA!!! W000000t! And I beat it with Claves unlocked and my strongest character (March) at level 94! The final fight was so easy. But the ending...

Ah, yes. The ending. Given what happened before (them beating Chopin and allowing him to die), it seems as though Polka throws herself off a cliff to save him. ("Doing this is easy if it's for him.") Not to mention that Allegretto doesn't really seem in that much of a hurry to save her. (Srsly, boy, you don't wait to yell her name until after she's already jumped!) Fast-forward through the WORLD'S LONGEST ENDING CREDITS, and we see that sequence with 4yearold!Polka and her mom. While her mom is saying that little speech about how Polka will one day jump into the sea, Chopin's voice comes in, saying how a girl so young should be able to live her life. He compares Polka to the flowers ("that light the darkness", or something), and says that he chooses to call them Heaven's Mirror. (Don't even get me started on how the "abyss of the sea" is one big allusion to Chopin.)

Right after he says this, Polka says that she can hear someone calling her, and Solfege says that means she must have found someone who's a perfect match for her astra. Well, who was just talking? Chopin! Not Allegretto. When she runs into Allegretto's arms, I'm convinced that there's some things we don't get to see. First of all, maybe she ran to him because a) he's closest and b) she's happy to be back and wants to hug somebody. Second, when he kisses her, the camera cuts away before we get to see her reaction (which skyphoenix206and I have agreed must be one of shock, annoyance, and "if you ever do that again you're not going to live through it.") Not to mention that if she had been kissed by Chopin, the ESRB would have gone crazy. Because she's underage. (Never mind that laws about age-of-consent (about 13) and such were much less stringent in his time, so he certainly wouldn't think so. *cackle*)

Okay. So on Saturday, I went with shadow_mawand Ashley (skyphoenix206on here) to Atlas Park mall. It was pwnsome. We hung out in Borders, read manga (I'm hiding the yaoi for shadow_maw), talked about fandom (I have turned Ashley into an ardent Polka/Chopin shipper. She draws cute fanart, I write fic for it), ate at Johnny Rocket's (Ashley's mom, who was with us, is awesome), walked around looking at shoe stores, and practiced our evil laughs (scaring the bejeezus out of a few innocent bystanders). It was a fun day.

...I had a Bio test which I spent Sunday cramming for. 6th period Bio lab (right before Bio) a petition endorsed by the senior president went around trying to convince our sub not to give us the test for two reasons:
1. her other classes were out on trips and had an extra day to prepare
2. half our class was thrown out for dress code violations and would ALSO have an extra day to prepare.
Well, I signed the thing (along with everyone in our class) but when the time came to take the test, while everyone else (including this one really smart guy who gets 100s in EVERYTHING) sat with their hands folded in front of them...

I took it (after grabbing my friend Danny's hand for courage). I think I did pretty well, too. The bad news is that all my class is calling me a traitor and won't speak to me. But you know something? I don't regret it. It's a matter of pride in my abilities. I'm not good at sports or street-smart (I'm not even that good at Bio, really). What I can do--what I'm good at--is schoolwork (I'm 9th in my year). So I had to take that test.

...I still think my Bio class is going to kill me, though.

This was a good week:

1) My mom might get a promotion (Vice President FTW!) and she's no longer working under her annoying boss
2) I'm going to go with shadow_maw and Ashley to the mall tomorrow.
4) Every Friday is Music History Day in my Humanities Class, and we did Chopin today! (Note to self: Rent Impromptu.)

And the last good thing? I GOT INTO QUEENS COLLEGE!!! W00t!

I had my math midterm yesterday. The multiple choice was pretty easy, but the part where we had to show our work? Not so much. There was this one question that I knew how to answer, but I couldn't remember it, so I was wracking my brain frantically for any hint of inspiration...and 5 minutes before time was called, I had an idea. So I spent the last few minutes of the test writing as fast as my fingers could move.  I swear I was having a heart attack by the end.

And our proctor was annoying... Thick accent + bored students + math test = entire class getting yelled at and me wishing I wasn't sitting quite so close to the front.

But! All was not lost, for I ran into shadow_maw  right before the test! She draws such cute chibis...I wish I could draw like her, but I suck at detail and drawing small things.

And in the spirit of the holiday...

The Recipe For Ukyo

3 parts Cleverness 2 parts Slyness 1 part Savvy Splash of Magnetism Limit yourself to one serving. This cocktail is strong!

The Recipe For Kirara

3 parts Moxie 2 parts Style 1 part Love Splash of Class Shake vigorously

The Recipe For Akemi

3 parts Enchantment 2 parts Elegance 1 part Playfulness Splash of Recklessness Finish off with a little umbrella and straw

The Recipe For lilith_queen

3 parts Intellect 2 parts Courage 1 part Class Splash of Nonconformity Sip slowly on the beach

First off, I hope those of you who celebrate it had a merry Christmas.

Mine was...unexpectedly awesome. In addition to the complete boxed set of Samurai 7 DVDs, I got books, clothes, a really cool necklace... and a PSP. Complete with a copy of Riviera: The Promised Land. (shadow_maw, I'll bring it in next time we have computer club--if I can pry it away from my dad.) Oh, and my mom bought my dad an Xbox. I will probably never see him again.

Naturally, now I have to take all my gift cards to the mall and buy games. And then I have to embark on the much more serious task of making space for all my new stuff. Help.

Well. You remember that Yahoo! group for Girl Genius? I thought I'd post a message on there.  So I fired off a few lines. When I checked back later, there was a notice saying the following: 

"You have been banned from this group by the moderator (Yahoo ID banned: ryouroka). You may not join the group girlgenius."

WHY??? What did I do? The homepage said that if you made any off-topic or spam posts, you would be banned--but I was on-topic. Did I hit the wrong button when I went to hit send? Was I not supposed to mention that I'd like to write fanfic for that topic? WHAT? And so I tried to send an email to the moderator asking why I had been banned, but I got a failure notice from Yahoo.

I can still access the messages (the main part of the site) but I have to sign in under a different name to get at the rest of the site. 

This. SUCKS. I wouldn't be so annoyed if I just knew why they banned me! (Srsly, you guys KNOW me. Would I be rude or inflammatory? Or send spam?)

Gacked from gehayi.

1. Go to the Wikipedia home page and click random article. That is your band's name.
2. Click random article again; that is your album name.
3. Click random article 15 more times; those are the tracks on your album.

Band name: Septimus Heap
Album: Rangemaster
Tracks
1. Ľubomíra Balážová
2. Charter of Privileges
3. Trinidad, Casanare
4. Charles Darwin Foundation
5. Homo Hierarchicus
6. Murray Hill
7. RER A4
8. Something Wicked This Way Comes
9. Khalifa International Tennis Complex
10. Mani Iyer
11. Gya’nyima
12. Ulmus 'Microphylla Purpurea'
13. Kokonoe, Ōita
14. Dionys Pruckner
15. Quintet (NHK Educational)

So. Yesterday morning I took the ACT again. When I was done, my parents and I spent an hour stuck in NYC traffic in order to go to the con. When we finally got there (and found a place to park, and cursed out all the people who came in buses) I made a beeline for the nearest manga booth (Emma vol.5, +Anima vol. 6, Apothecarius Argentum vol. 3, Sugar Sugar Rune vol. 7). And then I found shadow_maw, ditched my parents, and we set off to explore the con.

OMG, where to start? Manga! Lots and LOTS of Naruto cosplayers! I bought pins and a plushie and a subscription to Anime Insider! Also, since shadow_mawcan't buy yaoi, I bought her a book on how to draw it. And I saw a Kikuchiyo cosplayer! We went to this really cool fanfiction workshop, and I got the autographs of the guys who ran it!(Pics will be up as soon as I get them developed.)

And...and...I MET MICHAEL TERRACCIANO. He does the webcomic Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire. Since I was broke by the time I met him, I couldn't buy a copy of the comic, but I shook his hand! (He's actually really good-looking in person.)

 It SNOWED last night. Woohoo! But it wasn't enough to close down the school. Crap. (Even though we're built at the bottom of a pit.)

I'm totally hooked on Girl Genius. Its tagline is, "Mad Scientists Rule the World. Badly." Go read, for yea and verily it is awesome. (I mean, it's psuedo-Victorian era Europe with mad scientists! How much cooler can you get?)

The message board (you need to sign up to access it.)

The Yahoo! group (which you also need to join to access.)