approximately exactly 3 weeks until I am done with the '07-'08 schoolyear and move out of the room until September. O.o

1 month & 24 days until 2nd season EUReKA comes out on DVD!!!!!! Except, I can't really get it until at the very earliest an additional 3 days, since it overlaps with Rome. And then I'd have to see if I even have the money to buy it. But YAY EUReKA!!!!!!!

Also: 2 months & 7 days until EUReKA begins [the first half of!!] 3rd season! And episode titles for about the first 6 episodes were unveiled!!! Drones, dogs, Mummies (Are you my Mum--err, oops, wrong show), mentions of phase, and apparently somebody named Bob! *flails* There's also this woman named Eva Thorne who's being called ( minor, not really spoilery )

3 weeks & 6 days until I leave for Rome! Non parlo italiano, ma sarà eccellente! And, randomly, "I'm Welsh" is "sono gallese." Heh.

January '09 Dollhouse premieres! *waves Joss Whedon-fan flag* Apparently FOX is doing some weird experimental thing where they're actually reducing commercial time, meaning the "hour-long" Dollhouse episodes will be ~50 minutes as opposed to ~42-44 (which, why in the world do we consider these shows "hour-long" when they're barely 3/4 of an hour??). ALDKHFALHSALKDFH!!!! I'm of two minds about this. For one thing, longer episodes = more excellence. But on the other hand, longer episodes = more expensive to shoot, write for, etc. etc. And with less commercials showing, that drives the cost up more. So, if the idiots people at FOX see the costs of Dollhouse, they might think it's too expensive and (worst case scenario) cancel it. Especially since I don't think American companies are as well-informed about how these things work (except maybe the people for the show 24, who are also FOX, which might make my worries completely unfounded).

Just let Dollhouse work. Please. Or else I might have to boycott FOX's new shows forever and ever because I know they'll just end up breaking my heart. Yes, I'm still bitter about Firefly and Tru Calling. Ironically, Joss created Firefly and Eliza Dushku starred in Tru Calling, and yet both came back to FOX for a show. Maybe they can pool their good luck and it'll come out on top.

FOX has made me sort of excited for the upcoming TV season. There's Dollhouse, and then there are 2 new shows which I'm sort of interested in giving a go. Courtroom K and Lie to Me, the former of which sounds kinda like House in a courtroom, and the latter is a new crime drama. I just finished saying I didn't want to get too attached to any new FOX shows, but I couldn't help it. They just caught my attention.

Speaking of House and the '09 season....I can't believe they moved House to 8PM Wednesdays!!! What is up with that??? Arrgh. And then they seemed to have moved Bones to a different night, and while I don't watch the show I have read the opinion that those 2 (for some reason or another) shouldn't be split up. Those people will have a field day, I know.

Message to FOX: If you just have to cancel a show, cancel some of those stupid comedies and/or that really weird reality show where millionaires pretend to be poor people and accomplish their one act of kindness by giving money away. None of those shows sound very interesting at all.

The administration at UW apparently favor the freshman to a crazy level. I realize the people who organize Dawg Daze and this weird resident-thank-you-BBQ are completely different people, but...seriously? Giving the prizes to only the freshman-centric dorm (plus the upperclass residents who live down south)? Not cool. Is dividing the prizes between North and South dorms too hard? Or even just collecting all the cards and doing the raffling overnight? Or picking a more central-location? Oh well. I didn't see a PS3 anywhere on the little card thing that listed sample prizes, and I'm pretty sure that would've ranked at the top with the Wii and a bike. Soo..not really bothering.

At the BBQ, though, I had sat down with my food when a guy sat in the booth in front of me. He played a sound clip somehow (cell phone? I'm not sure) and, like the geek that I am, I knew what it was. Final Fantasy VII Fanfare!!! *dances in time with the trumpets/whatever the instruments are* ...Yes, sadly, I did deduce which Final Fantasy it was, though I might still be wrong--I haven't heard the music for I-VI. But I'm 95% sure it's VII. Hee.

Nothing much beyond my television rant/countdown. Well...and that Club crackers are terrifyingly (and it's hard to believe "terrifyingly" is an actual word) addicting. And Nobuo Uematsu is a genius.


(Referring to the new sheriff's car)
Jack: I know this isn't environmentally correct, but I really miss my old Jeep.
Allison: Well, next time you won't ignore the "tornado crossing" sign.

Allison: Be careful.
Jack: It's hard to be carefuller. (Receives strange looks) What?! I know it's not a word! --EUReKA, Once in a Lifetime

After I got back from class today I checked my student page, and found they'd posted the next quarter's schedule up. And so, like the complete and utter dork I am, I went and tried to arrange my schedule about a month in advance. And I could very well make a schedule where I have classes ONLY on Tues/Thurs, but A) I would wind up having to make a mad dash across campus which would normally take me 15-20 minutes in 10 minutes, and B) I'm going to see what requirements there are for the Korean minor (which is FINALLY being offered!). If the minor requires a 3rd year, then I won't pursue it because I would go absolutely insane fulfilling all the other credits. If I only need to have taken through second year, then I'll probably take this Korean history class which also counts as a Writing credit, which would take care of all my GenEd requirements.

But, yes, I don't need to make those kinds of decisions until a little less than 3 weeks from now. Sooo....I'm not going to fret over Korean minor or No Korean minor.

I am going to (probably, if the teachers don't swap or something) be taking my Prose writing class from David Shields, an author whose books I have never read. I'll probably do that over the summer, before I take his class. I find it highly unlikely he would be so egotistic that he'd require us to have read his own book(s) for the class, but I'd just like to have some idea as to what his style is like.

I turned in all my visa stuff Thursday, one whole day before it was officially due, so that's over with. There was one tiny little section which the notary didn't know what to do with and I intended to ask the IPE person what I should do with it, but she wasn't there. >.< Sooo, I checked my email a little obsessively over the weekend to make sure there wasn't a message saying, "You screwed up. You need to come in PRONTO." As it's past the IPE's hours, now, I think I'm in the clear (at least for this portion of the application). If not, then it's IPE's fault, not mine. *sticks out tongue at IPE*

Washington weather really likes to be bipolar/insane. Over the weekend we got blue skies, rain, hail, and snow. In one day. With a few switches between them. *headdesk* My sister says she and Mom woke up to white on the ground in Olympia. In the UW's student newspaper, they forecast the weather in a little corner on the front page. They had rain, sun, clouds, and snow lined and bunched up to each other, and a little caption that said (roughly): "The weather's too wacky. We give up! Prepare for everything!"

See, this is why people in Washington/NW wear layers and all that. It's not because we think it's fashionable (though depending on what you do I suppose it can be). It's because of weather like this.

And now switching back to Rome topics...my first Official-Rome-Meeting is the 29th, so yay! I can actually jump up and down about it now since the visa thing is over with. So my Tuesday looks like:

9:30--Go to first class of the day.
1:30--Finish last class of the day.
3:00-5:00--Go to Rome meeting (YAY!!)
6:00-undetermined time--Go to review session for my Planets midterm on May 1st (and, on Wed., another review from the professor himself at 6:30). *twirls finger*

I'm not ecstatic about that last bit, but what can I do. The TA is supposedly going to hand out extremely comprehensive notes, soo...yeah. Want/need those.

I've also bought my flight ticket at long last, so now I know when precisely I leave the Seattle area. Huzzah for having to be at the airport 2-3 hours early, and therefore needing to be there by....well, actually, I'll have to wake up in the early early early hours of the morning just so I can get my stuff together, arrive at Sea-Tac, and be there for the 2-3 hour security check-in. @.@ Ooohh, I am sooooo sleeping on the plane. Or drinking an insane amount of caffeine. *headdesk repeatedly*

*Edit 7:25* My decree: Squirrels are much cuter than crows, and have my undying support over crows. Especially when 2 crows decide to bully one poor, cornered squirrel right under my window. And then proceed to stalk my window when I scare them off.


Zoe: You know, sometimes it sucks having a father who’s the town smokie.
Carter: Well sometimes it sucks having a daughter who’s the town delinquent. [Zoe glares at him] I take it back.
Zoe: Gee, thanks.
Carter: It always sucks. [exits the car] HA!

Zoe: Please, don’t make me do this. I hate old people.
Carter: You don’t do this, you won’t live to be one. --EUReKA, Dr. Nobel

After this week is over, I can look forward to Rome with such a lighter heart. It's a sad realization that knowing all the visa/scholarship/plane ticket stuff is going to be over with soon is the only thing that's keeping me going with the Rome thing at the moment.

On brighter news, 2nd Season of EUReKA is coming!! Huzzah, huzzah! Sadly I'll be in Rome when it comes out (July 15th), but then again I probably won't have the money for it at that point in time anyhow, so...yeah.

There is one thing which put a dampener on my glee for the 2nd season:

'Eco-Friendly' packaging made from biodegradable materials - "Designed in Eureka!"

It appears that Universal has not learned their lesson from the first season! If you purchased the first season DVD set last summer, you will be aware that the disc trays, made of biodegradable materials (more commonly known as potatoes...hey, they said it - on the back of the set!), are pretty useless at holding the discs. Sounds like this 3-disc second season set is gonna be exactly the same!

.....But as for the biodegradable materials packaging...expect to find your discs firmly OUT of their places when you buy the set in July...

*whimpers* I'm all for being nice to the environment, but....really? I would like it if I didn't have to handle my EUReKA DVDs like a tray with heirloom-quality china. I hope they've improved the disc trays' ability to keep hold of the disc.

I don't know if I've already said this, but....Hot food in Ian's = EXCELLENCE.

Okay. No more procrastination for me. *sigh*


First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me. --Martin Niemöller

Because I'm super-uber-totally-completely-withoutadoubt-insanely-indescribably excited about this:

DOCTOR WHO SEASON 4 BEGINS THIS SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *FLAILS*

And because it cannot be emphasized enough:

21 EPISODES HAVE BEEN ORDERED FOR EUReKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SEE?!?!?!?!?! *FLAILS MORE*

Went to B&N and sorted out my book order and picked up the one they did have, and wound up....well, wound up spending far too much time there than I probably should have. I was sorta browsing through the "travel in Italy/Rome" books, and then I went up to the fiction section and was trying to justify buying more books, but....no. That road leads to my sister hitting me for overloading the car.

After B&N went to go get my lab manual for my Planets class, and passed by this used bookstore called Magus Books. I went inside to see if they might have the one Chaucer book B&N didn't have (either in stock or at their warehouse), and lo and behold....THEY HAD IT! The exact same edition, and from the UBookstore no less, so I'm fairly certain it was from someone who took my class previously. Heh. $4.50 instead of $11? Yes please.

Got my Planets lab thing, crossed the street to the STA/Council travel agency and got my ISIC (International Student Identification Card; it's for students and they get discounts and the like), then went to UTeriyaki and got some bibimbap. 'Twas yummy, but I think I may have added a little too much of the spicy paste, but it was still delicious, so it's all good.

All of that took about 3 hours, and when I got back I found I had apparently scared Nikki (and Alayna, and Freddie) with my April Fools message I left on my white board saying: "I am at Olympia indefinitely, call." Oops. *apologizes profusely*

Nikki and I watched another episode of Life on Mars (which you should totally watch even if you aren't into cop shows, because it is AWESOME), and about halfway through a friend of hers came to be given a tour of Hansee. She showed him around, he got to see hers and my room and Freddie's, and quite a bit of the rest of it, and he was bought. ^.^

Kinda odd. I make Hansee out to sound like an apartment or rented house or something when it's a dorm. But, it really feels like a house rather than a dorm.

One of the books I browsed through at B&N (which I couldn't for the life of me find again; drat!!!) had some really good information about traveling abroad, and touched on the subject of student visas. And, uh...well, let's just say my family's going to be tearing my hair out of my head when I get started on that process, because there's at least one thing that is down in Olympia that I need to apply for a visa that I chose not to take up with me because I didn't want to deal with my mother's fuss and bad temper. *headdesk*

I sent an email to the person in charge of the Rome program a few minutes ago asking if they received my confirmation that I am going to Rome (which I should have done way before today, probably....), because they say the deposit charge is supposed to show up a week after I'm confirmed, and....it's been more than a week since I've confirmed, and that little extra charge never showed up. *feels like she dropped the ball somehow*

Vincent: (about the customers looting Café Diem) First the utensils turned to gold, then the counters, then the silverware. And that’s when they turned against me. Like vultures. Greedy little genius vultures. I thought intelligent men were above such things.
Carter: (spots Fargo trying to swipe a gold cappuccino machine) Fargo! Really?
Fargo: It’s just so shiny. --EUReKA (go watch EUReKA as well if you haven't!)

First day of spring quarter!

Moving back in yesterday was sorta not very interesting (by this of course I exclude the AWESOMEness Nikki and I had watching Friday Night Project [think British SNL, with much less censorship] which featured David Tennant). For no reason whatsoever, though, I went to bed at 2AM, even though I thought I might have class at 9:30 (my wondering about whether I had class at 9:30 is explained below). I guess I just wanted to keep the spring break alive for just a little longer...

So, I am taking an astronomy class called The Planets, which is arranged in a way that quiz/lab sections are Monday and Wednesday and the main lecture is on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Obviously, since today is a Monday, there is no possible way we could be doing labs and such since we haven't even begun learning anything. So, I didn't know whether or not the quiz section met. Typically at the UW, the quiz sections don't meet during the first week of the quarter. So, by this reasoning, this quiz section wouldn't meet, right?

I didn't know for certain, though, since there was no email stating which case was true. Because I'm a paranoid person, I chose to go to quiz section. I figure, if it doesn't meet, then I can go take care of other stuff. Or possibly even eat breakfast, rather than making it a brunch.

I suppose I was rewarded. Quiz section was meeting. Blegh. I did not approve, though at least the TA is bright and alert at that hour, and by her own words she's TA-ed for the class a "million times" so she knows what she's about. Still....really? Convening the QS before the first lecture? Not cool.

And, slightly deviating: They took away the broken obelisk in Red Square!!!!
( An obscenely big image behind the cut, because LJ refuses my attempts to resize it )
It was true!! I read a post about it in the uw community, but I thought they'd bring it back in time by start of classes, since it was taken away for "cleaning" (...really? Why do they need to clean it??). 'Twas not the case. I took pictures ^.^

The Quad cherry blossoms were out, too, and I took a picture of that as well. ^.^ Was very happy. And, really, UW has this "Hogwarts-esque" thing going on. There's Hansee, which is like the school proper, and then there's all these little artsy-architecture-sculptures/whatever-you-want-to-call-it that's all around the school. In the Physics/Astronomy building, there's this neat little pendulum that swings according to the Earth's gravitational spin or whatnot, and in order to get to my QS classroom I have to take this winding staircase. Seriously. Hogwarts-extension.

Anyway, back to classes. 2nd Year Korean is the typical 2nd Year Korean, with lots of me panicking about being completely stupid. And I never noticed it, but they moved where the class was meeting! Originally we were meeting in the basement of Smith, which was fine by me, but now we're meeting on the 4th floor. 4 flights of stairs? NO. Yes, with all capitals. Elevator? Most definitely.

Chaucer....is where my lots nerdiness comes in. I had to run down the 4 flights of stairs and then another bit of stairs to exit Smith, run up the big long hill to Denny, climb another bit of stairs to enter, and get to the classroom, which took about 5 minutes, and then the 2 hour class started. The teacher's a bit...I guess absentminded? He kept starting a topic, waxing on about it and a few tangents, and then restarted the topic again, but it was alright since I kinda do that, too. But then he got started on the timeline and history of Medieval literature, and what those years encompass in terms of people and such, and I was enthralled by it. *shifts eyes* I guess if I'd been more on the ball about my college experience I would've been a history minor (or double major, even), but I was interested in learning about the different names for the eras and people of them. History of English literature, I suppose they'd call it. I suppose it's the feel of it being trivia that attracts me to learning/knowing it. Maybe something to pursue in grad studies--except I'm not intending to faint in horror today, so I'm going to stop right there on that idea.

I think I'm really going to like Paul (the teacher). He kinda gives me a Mr. Hesse vibe, which sorta isn't a good thing, but Paul has a good Mr. Hesse vibe. He obviously wanted to talk at length about how bad the UBookstore is about textbooks and which professors ordered theirs. He ordered his weeks ago, but they claim to have not received it, and he went on at length about how much trouble he went to in copying and pasting the different ISBNs and finding them and how there aren't convenient options and so on and so forth. I found it amusing, at least. AND he gave a good reason for why he wanted specific editions of the texts, which was my main concern and grief with the class, so I'm at ease about it now. And there's an OPTIONAL multiple choice midterm exam (read: Extra Credit), and a choice between writing a literary criticism or research paper that's due at the end of the quarter, and the only required exam is also multiple choice, and I actually want to read the texts, and and and and and....!!!!!!!!

....is it obvious how much of a nerdy English/Creative Writing major I am now? *angles herself to hide under her desk from all the rolling eyes*

Speaking of books, I'm waiting to receive my email confirmation from B&N that my books have been shipped to them, which should be today since I requested 2-day shipping and ordered them Saturday. Since the UBookstore is being stupid and the only text we need for the next 4 weeks is the book I have, I'm not too concerned.

I've written it in my Facebook, but I'll reiterate here for emphasis: Joss Whedon is making me into a comics collector. *headdesk* Buffy Season 8 which will be going for FIFTY ISSUES and Firefly comics which seem to be coming out in 3s, and Joss has said/confirmed that there will be a Shephard Book series (in comics, I assume) after the Better Days arc.

*flails* I'm a college student! I'm going to Rome! I have no money for all this fandom!!! *flails more*

Speaking of....Info session for Rome nao plzkthnx??? Y'know...so I can prepare all the necessary stuff BEFORE June???? Like, visas and such?? (which, visas are apparently paper/authorization saying a person can enter/exit the country.)

Anything else? Wellll, the weather's turned rotten after a sun-shiney day of blue skies, but that's almost like saying the Earth revolves around the sun. It's Seattle/Western Washington (because all Washingtonians know that the Eastern and Western sides might as well be different states), we can literally have blue skies, puffy clouds, overcast skies, hail, and rain all in the same day, if not the same hour.

I'll probably be posting random pics up on my Photobucket account; when I do, I'll link them here. Just a lot of random me-stuff.

Edit 7:00PM: Added the pic of the missing broken obelisk above. And if you want to see more pics of different parts of campus, leave a comment and maybe I'll give links.

Edit 10:00PM: I TOTALLY FORGOT!!!! 21 NEW EPISODES ORDERED FOR EUReKA!!!!!!!!!!!!! *FLAILS* It may not mean 22-episode season(s), but...21 EPISODES!!!!! *FLAILS MORE*


{Asked by Mrs. Clark if he knew what day it was.]
"Oh, yes; it is the glorious Fourth of July. It is a great day. It is a good day. God bless it. God bless you all. [He then lapsed into unconsciousness. He awakened later, and mumbled] Thomas Jefferson..." --Pres. John Adams
John Adams died on July 4, 1826. He is often quoted as having said "Thomas Jefferson still survives." with some depictions indicating he might have not expressed the entire statement before dying, i.e.: "Thomas Jefferson… still survi—", but some research indicates that only the words "Thomas Jefferson" were clearly intelligible among his last. Adams did not know that Jefferson, his great political rival—and later friend and correspondent—had died a few hours earlier that same 4th of July, 1826, exactly fifty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

I added the non-quote bit because it's interesting trivia--trivia that I actually learned from a non-school source, though for the life of me I can't remember from where.

Stargate: SG-1 the complete series: $230.00 at online Target, $239 at Suncoast
MacGyver the complete series: $130-169.00 at online Target
Doctor Who 2005, series 1, 2, and probably 3: $100 at Barnes and Noble stores

*headdesk repeatedly*

And I was just browsing through the Suncoast website, and they have a "Doctor Who Megaset" selling for $819.98!, but reduced down to $404.95 (a savings of $415.03, 51%, if you need to know)! 40 discs in that collection, though they don't state which or what have you. Obviously the old-skool Who, but still. Jeez.

Why is everything so expensive? Why does the world need money? (and no, I'm not looking for some philosophy/political science/economics major to come along and tell me the "purpose" of money; it's called a rhetorical question.)

The Haunted Hansee committe met for the first time today, but unfortunately I didn't get to do much because they meet at 4:30 and my poetry class doesn't get out til 4:50, if she doesn't run on and on. And she does. Still, I hope to contribute at least a little something to the Haunted House. If you've got any ideas for scary rooms or whatnot, I'm open to suggestions. And if you attend the University of Washington, volunteer! We need (wo)manpower the night of the event!

The Eureka season finale......*sigh*
( HUGE (as in, talking about the Season finale and S.2 in general) Spoilers lay beyond this cut....be careful! )



There's quite a bit of Eureka-fandom-insanity behind that cut (and just the tiniest bit of Grey's love, too). Thank goodness for lj-cuts.

I think my short story writing teacher actually can't keep his hands still. He was still tapping everything and whatnot, and I'm guessing he hasn't gone on any whirlwind trips for Monday. Of course, my poetry teacher is also the same way, so maybe it's just a writer's thing. Maybe someday in the future I'll be waving my arms around like a maniac and be utterly incapable of keeping them at rest. Hmmm.

My poetry teacher read a poem to us by Marge Piercy called, "For the Young Who Want To." (http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/for-the-young-who-want-to/ ) It struck me because it so aptly describes what I feel as a writer.

I didn't know Robert Jordan had died on Sept. 16, 2007 until...well, I don't even actually know when I found out, but I had. He died without officially finishing his Wheel of Time series, leaving the work of finishing #12 to his family. While I only read 2 books out of the 12 in the series, I do respect the loss of the fans. I hadn't even been a fan of Douglas Adams at the time of his death, and I was distressed to learn he had died. And Madeleine L'Engle...late as it is, may she rest in peace as well.

Off to watch House. And possibly eat. That'd probably be good.

*Edit 10:32* Sam's Dad was on House!!! It sort of makes me sad that all the Stargate SG-1 people are having to go out and get new roles, though of course Carmen Argenziano no longer had an actual character since his died. But still. Major Davis/Colin Cunningham, Dr. Frasier/Teryl Rothery, and Daniel Jackson/Michael Shanks all came into Eureka (still waiting on all those Eureka/Stargate crossovers, especially since Rothery's character's husband who died was named "Daniel"....actually, I'm a little puzzled as to why they haven't cropped up yet...) but it just makes me nostalgic finding my SG-1 actors in other shows I watch. I miss my good ol' SG-1 getting into trouble on planets and ticking off the Goa'uld and getting their brains all mushed with the knowledge of the Ancients. Yes, if you couldn't tell, I miss SG-1 of season 1-7. Couldn't bear to watch Jack get relegated to the desk job, and then they had Farscapers come in and rob take over "star" in the show (which, if you ask me, is pretty much what killed it, along with terrible story arcs).

Yes. This was an update mostly in the fandom genre. Yesterday was the "real life" update. Who needs that, anyhow...?



These are, as I began, cumbersome ways/to kill a man. Simpler, direct, and much more neat/is to see that he is living somewhere in the middle/of the twentieth century, and leave him there. --Edwin Brock, Five Ways to Kill a Man. Something cheerful for everyone out there to think about. (I chose the less-morbid poem to quote from for people's sanity [and so people wouldn't question mine]. That should make you raise a brow).

May as well post today as two days from now. I doubt anything major is going to happen to rattle my world.

And Happy Birthday to Neville Longbottom, and a day early to dearest Harry (yes, I'm pathetic, I'm wishing fictional characters a happy birthday. =P)

WARNING: LENGTHY DESCRIPTION OF HARRY POTTER-MANIA DOWN BELOW. SKIP 2 PARAGRAPHS IF YOU ARE UTTERLY BORED BY IT BY NOW. There's nothing too spoilery, I don't think, except possibly for the final quote which is hidden behind an lj-cut, anyhow.

I picked up my copy of HPDH pretty much around opening time at B&N, and had to wait in an actual line, which kinda bamboozled me for a minute or two. I chatted with a woman in front of me who had swung by the B&N the night before for the midnight party, and saw that a line had wrapped around the abandoned building next door (the facade of which is pretty darned broad) by around 9-ish and chose to wait until the next day to buy it. This made me kinda glad I hadn't gone. Went and bought 2 slices of Godiva chocolate cheesecake (YUM!) and put up with my sister driving to first Borders (which had a whole separate line for Harry Potter, apparently, but at that early in the morning was completely empty [HA! take that, evil Borders which competes with my B&N!]), then to the mall across the way so she could go to Suncoast, and then to Burger King where she actually had breakfast, before we went home. I read the entire way up until a little after we left BK, at which point I started getting carsick and regrettably had to put the book down. I think I was at about chapter 4 or 5-ish. Then, upon arriving home at about 10-ish, I promptly secluded myself in my room and read, being interrupted only for unimportant things like dinner and such. I finished the book in about 7 hours. Heh.

I can't say that I'm totallycompletelyohmygodwowhowutterlythrillingandexciting about the book, but.....I can say that I'm content. Yes, I'm content. Things I felt pretty darned sure about came to be true, and some of my suspicions were verified, and a few other thoughts were debunked. I was horrified by a few of the deaths, and I didn't understand why a few of them died until today, when I read a transcript JKR had, in which she stated why 2 of the characters had died (that their deaths had been an exchange for the reprieve of one character earlier). I would sort of have preferred the 2 characters to live and the other to have died, but...I'm okay with it. I will let it rest. I had wished there would be more conclusions in the final book, but having read 2 transcripts with JKR today, I have a few of my questions answered (one of which no one seemed to have ever asked!) so I am ready now to accept book 7 as it is (and begin writing a HP fanfic or two...)

My family went to Westport yesterday, but Mom didn't get to have fresh crab--they were only selling tuna. Drive was okay, I didn't have to do it so I was fine with it. My sister parked in all sorts of weird places, but whatever. We wandered up and down the boardwalk (or whatever it's called), checked out a few gift shops, lamented not getting fresh crab, and ate at the Half Moon Bay Restaurant (I think? It might just be Half Moon Restaurant or something). It was okay, but I think the next time we go we should eat elsewhere. $30 house specials....sheesh. My sister bought a bit of fudge and chocolates, and my mother a hat so her hair didn't fly all over the place, and I took a few pictures. Nothing too terribly exciting, though Mom has expressed the interest to go on a boat out to sea and watch the fishing.

After we got back from Westport, I decided I wanted ice cream, so I went out to Mega Foods (which, I discovered, is selling HP books. I don't know why this disturbs me more than knowing Fred Meyers does it, but...yeah. It's just weird to think my friendly, neighborhood grocery store sells HP), I bought my mother cantalopes (which she seems to be addicted to) before heading to Baskin Robbins (yay-ness!). Bought my mother 2 quarts of Cookes n' Cream and myself a 1/2 gallon of Nutty Coconut. Yumminess.

My mother watches this Korean variety show where they showcase people doing really, extremely strange/extraordinary things. One of their features was a young woman who very very literally puts superfluous amounts of sugar on everything. She and a friend were at an ice cream shop (a BASKIN ROBBINS ice cream shop, no less, heh), she got a big bowl of some ice cream (couldn't tell the flavor; the ice cream was completely green, though), pulled out a pint-sized container full to the brim with sugar, and began spooning sugar all over her ice cream. When she made one layer of sugar disappear, she spooned even more on her ice cream and ate away. My teeth hurt just watching it. There was also another segment showing a man who (with his wife/girlfriend) went around fields collecting bees/yellow jackets in a little cup with a lid and, using tweezers, stung himself with the bees, all because he liked the pain. *shakes head*

My mother bought the entire series of Dae Jang Geum. All 54 hours' worth. And no, this is not the "approx. 44 minutes" or whatnot kinda hour. This is a solid 1 Volume, 6 discs, 18 episodes, Approx. running time 18 hours with 3 volumes completing the series kinda 54 hours worth.

I'm now seriously considering doing the summer creative writing course in Rome in Summer '08. I would have to take out a(nother) loan to pay for it, but I kinda think if I put aside enough money to pay for the class and put the rest of it in a CD, the money in the CD will accrue some interest so that when I pay the loan back, it might be possible for me to pay that loan back before I'm 30 (which is not the same case as the other student loans I have). If I have enough money, I might even be able to buy Mom a bigger new TV, and the new TV we already have can go to my sister (that is, if she doesn't come up with some inane reason for not having it, like, "It's too big." In which case, I would happily take it off her hands). I don't know. It all depends on how much I take out, if I even decide to go. Life has gotten a bit complicated for me this last month, particularly in the university-arena.

I got some Korean newspapers/advertisements to translate for practice, but...none of my dictionaries are helping. And I can't type in Korean on my PC, so I can't use online dictionaries, and there are no Wireless hubs I trust around my neighborhood for me to use my laptop. *sigh* And on top of that, the Korean class I'm taking has now peaked at an enrollment of 27 students in a class which was only to be about 20 and in a room with a capacity of 25, and I'm still unable to enroll in it. I'm just glad I have an add-code, though now that I have thought about it I'm not entirely certain where that add-code is........Oh shit.......

I now have another thing to panic about. Must go now and calm myself with ice cream and well-written fanfiction.....

Mulan: My ancestors sent a little lizard to help me?
Mushu: Dragon, dragon, I don't do that tongue-thing. [does the tongue-thing] --Mulan

Jack: "You've never swung an axe in your life."
Nathan: "I've swung a lot of things that would surprise you." --EUReKA (all the Nathan/Jack fangirls swoon with the slashy innuendos)

And, so as to avoid censure from those people who have yet to read the final installment, a Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows quote is hidden behind an lj-cut, with a bit of a minor spoiler regarding a character (any more than that, and I may as well just leave it out in the open for all to read)

( Go Read HPDH if you haven't already! )

Here's a Eureka fic.

Title: Dartboard of Eureka
Author: ffjunkie42/sagdragon3002
Fandom: EUReKA; Jack Carter, Allison Blake, SARAH
Rating/Warnings: PG; minor cussing and spoilers for and up to Blink.

( What what? 2 updates in 1 day??? )

Well......first day of school was less than fantabulous, but not nearly as bad as my roommate, so I'm not going to complain. But I decided I'd post this Eureka fic I wrote in August, as I was intending to since Monday but....it got lost in the all-day outing on campus with loads of free stuff and a concert that featured ZOX and Flogging Molly (was more impressed with ZOX) and the extremely late night shopping venture at the Fred Meyer in Ballard (so....it was supposed to begin at 10 p.m., with busses to ship us students to and fro; there was a HUGE line that stretched so far back it passed 2 buildings that weren't exactly close, so Nessa and I didn't actually get on a bus until 11:45-ish) on Monday. Then Tuesday was me getting books, paying housing, etc. while I got everything ready to go on Wednesday.

And then Wednesday came. Blegh.

But I'm happy to be back and in the flow of school again. Having nothing to do all day is a bit tiring. Yes, I know the statement is paradoxical, but it works. If you don't understand it, then do nothing every minute of the day for a month. I'm sure you'll change your mind.

Back to the purpose of this entry......my fic.

Title: Longer Still
Author: ffjunkie42/sagdragon3002
Rating: PG-13 or T.
Warnings/Spoilers: Eureka doesn't belong to me. Has two little bad words and a brief, hypothetical mention of drugs. Spoilers for up to Many Happy Returns
Pairings: None. It's a Jack and Zoe interaction piece.
Summary: Jack’s had a long, hard day. It’s about to become even longer.

( SARAH welcomes you to the Carter residence. )

Just something for me to do, because I'm bored. Plus, it sort of goes with the post below.

If you happen to be working on some creative writing project, fanfiction or NaNoWriMo or what have you, post exactly one sentence (or more) from each of your current work(s) in progress in your journal. It should probably be your favorite or most intriguing sentence so far, but what you choose is entirely your discretion. Mention the title (and genre) if you like, but don't mention anything else -- this is merely to whet the general appetite for your forthcoming work(s).

I went ahead and pasted 2 sentences, because giving only 1 is less interesting and can be taken far too easily out of context. But as you may see from the extensive list....I have a LOT of ideas. Just no ability to flesh them out into wonderfully-completed works.

Mortal Kombat:
( Ice Cream-Capade )

( Untitled One-Shot )

( Untitled )

( One-Shot with its Sequel )

( Untitled Multi-chaptered fic )

( 2nd Untitled Multi-chaptered fic )

Final Fantasy X/-2:
( Dress Rehearsal--Chapter 3: Trainer )

( Crash-Course Parenting )

( Voiceless Witness )

( Untitled One-Shot )

Eureka:
( Untitled Multi-chaptered fic )

( Untitled One-Shot )

( Dartboard of Eureka )

Crossover(s):
( No Three in Teamwork )

( Naruto/MK X-over )

( Firefly/BtVS/Stargate/MK X-over )

I would put quotes here, but.....I think I'm going to consider all those 2-sentences my quotes for this entry.

18 more days til I move in to the dorms (and get reliable, handy-dandy Internet for my laptop).

Fanfiction is kind of dragging, because I've been on a Eureka-fix for the last.....6-7 weeks. Oh my. I really need to get a life >.<'

Jared, Nicole, and Lindsey are gone to college. I'm jealous, and I'll miss them. At least J&N are thirty minutes from Olympia and Seattle both; Lindsey went all the way to the other side of the country, 'cause she's so smart.

On the other hand, Melissa and Kim are still around (as is Vanessa, obviously). So, I'll just have to make sure to hang out with them while I can. Movie/TV-night for the 4 of us, heck yeah!

Working my way through the Friends series. I'm on the 7th season right now, though I think I skipped parts of 3 and 4. I may have to remedy that later. How I love thee and all your uncomfortable, defensive humor, Chandler!

Dirge of Cerberus is coming out soon. I'm torn between getting it, because it is FINAL FANTASY! and anything to do with FINAL FANTASY! is just awesome (except Spirits Within; that was just a bunch of people thinking they knew the greatness of FINAL FANTASY! but didn't) but I don't like shooter-games. I'm no good at them, and the constant fire of guns would be sure to wreck havoc on my jumpy mind. But....it's FINAL FANTASY! With CID HIGHWIND! *sigh* who knows, who knows.

Speaking of Final Fantasy games....I really ought to get to work on FFX-2. I haven't finished it yet, and I need to finish it in order to get the "Perfect" ending (if it doesn't have Auron in it, then it's not Perfect; it's just "Perfect").

Supposedly I'm off shopping sometime next week for school stuff.....we'll see if that actually happens. I'm pretty skeptical when it comes to those kinds of trips. I've often had those cancelled on me at the last moment, which is pretty damn irritating at times. I want to get things done *early* so I know I have time for a last-minute panic-trip. But again, we shall see.

Thinking of getting my hair trimmed/cut to my chin; it's at my shoulders right now, and though I don't mind it this long....without a hair-dryer, it takes longer to dry after a shower. And I don't have a hair-dryer, nor want to spend precious money on one. But I think I may wait until after I go up to college to get it done, thus avoiding the "Mommy-interference" until it's too late for her to put in a word. Seriously, 19 years old and one year of college tucked under my belt, and I STILL can't have my hair cut the length I want it. The whole "independence-in-college" thing is not quite coming out the way I planned.

I found this interesting "Harry Potter Social Life" quiz on someone's lj and I did do it, but.....I wound up dating Ron Weasley. And I have nothing against Ron, but.....*so* not the person I would date in HP. I don't think I'd date *anyone* in HP, except for Snape, but....I have this whole 'ship thing with he and Hermione. Yes, it's a sickness, born from fanfiction. Leave me be, I'm not ready to seek therapy yet.

Also found this 'book meme' thing that was simple, interesting (yet very pointless, at least to me), and kind of fun seeming. The thing which held me back was that all my books are upstairs, and I would choose the book I liked best, not a random book. That's one of the rules of the meme.

Otherwise......pretty dull month. Will probably go and cook up some popcorn, put in Friends, and drink my 2nd Pepsi of the day because I'm addicted and it's useless for me to fight it.

*sidenote: I discovered the origins of Mondler! It's not just some term coined by Chan & Mon 'shippers in the fanfiction community! Or maybe it's the creators' reaction to the aforementioned community...? Either way, when Ross said it I was all "squee!" ...Yeah, I'm pathetic. I'm okay with that, though ^.^

Jack Carter: Hey Allison, it's, uh, Carter. Um, I need a favor.
Allison Blake: Ooh! I thought you'd never ask. Listen, I want to play first base; they're always putting me in right field...

(to Allison, after she's brought Nathan Stark to the accident scene after he asks her not to)
Jack Carter: You are *so* stuck in right field!

Nathan Stark: Maybe you should question them at some point.
Jack Carter: Do I tell you how to do your job?
Nathan Stark: No, but that *is* an amusing idea. --Eureka (my new favorite show)

[Linda stands up with a post-it note stuck on her forehead]
Linda: I had a message for Margaret but I can't find it.
Dr. John Becker: Was it to tell her Mrs. Cooper called?
Linda: Wow, it's like you read my mind.
Dr. John Becker: Some are easier than others.
[Becker walks away and Margaret comes in]
Linda: I have a message for you.
Margaret: Was it to tell me Mrs. Cooper called?
Linda: Wow, you people are freaky.
[Linda goes in the back]
Dr. John Becker: I won't tell her if you won't tell her.

Dr. John Becker: Just when I think God couldn't screw me any further, he gets out the old Black & Decker and twists a little harder!
Margaret: Interesting; you're being persecuted by a God you don't believe in.
Dr. John Becker: That's why he's after me, Margaret.

Margaret: So someone finally shot you.
Dr. John Becker: I always thought it would be you, Margaret.
Margaret: So did I. --Becker (it seems like my kind of show, though I've only seen about 2-3 episodes)

A little mini-update, because I feel like updating. Wooo.

I think I can declare it official now. I am obsessed with the show Eureka. Before last night, I didn't have any lj groups. I am now a member of two, and am contemplating the rest of the Eureka groups. I spent almost 2 hours typing 9 pages of a Eureka fanfiction (and I have a long way to go before it's done), have another one almost lined up for posting next month, and Eureka quotes keep popping into my head ("Did someone cut the *blue wire*?" And I keep mentally jumping up and down and clapping and saying, "Yes, yes, someone did! Henry! Loveable Henry with your innocent-but-still-guilty face!"). Ever since the pilot aired about 4-5 weeks ago I was dying to read Eureka fanfiction, and was surfing around the Internet for *anything*. Fanfiction.net failed me in that regard. But then lovely people who have lj accounts and write fanfiction saved me from going crazy, and had fanfiction posted. And as luck would have it, the first fanfiction I read was a nice piece with Nathan/Jack. ^.^

On the pilot episode, I thought I'd be a Jack/Allison shipper. But now, about 5 episodes later, I've slowly evolved into a Nathan/Jack shipper. It's a hopeless situation.

Eureka-rant over (for now).

Going to Mount St. Helens tomorrow with my very good friends. Should be an enjoyable time. I hope Nicole, Kim, and Kagels can come, as it would reunite the old gang, but since I know at least Kim and Nicole have jobs they might not be able to. We're thinking about dinner after the field trip and they finish with work, so I may still be able to see them. 'Twould be nice. But the really good thing about this trip is that it gets me out of the house (*REALLY* out of the house). I haven't left the Olympia/Tumwater area since JUNE. That's almost over 2 FREAKING months. As my friend Nessa said, I should be gnawing at my arm right now. Don't know why I haven't yet (it could have something to do with the aforementioned show >.< ).

Carter: I went back to check some of my own personal files, and they'd been classified. These are *my* files!
Blake: It's not my fault that there are things about yourself that you're just not cleared to know.
Carter: Yeah, I'd hate to stumble across something that if I told me I'd have to kill me.

Henry: (looking at the empty arsenal) Tell me this wasn't filled with weapons.
Jack: No, no, it wasn't.
Henry: You're lying to me, aren't you?
Jack: Oh, big time!
Henry: What is going on?
Jack: Ah, well, let's see - Spencer thinks aliens have landed, Vince and Fargo are missing, and Jo [an ex-Special Forces operative] has gone... G.I. Joe.

[After Carter has calmed down four people who have become extremely paranoid and talked them into surrendering]
Allison [as the four are being escorted away]: Are they ok?
Carter: Oh no, they're all bug nuts.

Allison: You know what, you're not grasping the point here. If you don't take the physical, you don't have a job -- so strip, we'll just do the physical here.
Jack: Excuse me?
Allison: Well, we all have a past, this was mine. So, um, (snaps fingers) time's a-wastin', drop 'em.
Jack: Uh, I'm gonna need to see some credentials, if you are a doctor.
Allison: Was a doctor, before Kevin was born, but I still think I remember where all the main parts are. So drop your pants.
Jack: Yeah, no. There'll be no pant dropping without a nice dinner, and many, many cocktails.

[Big, unknown machine that later turns out to be a missile erupts from the street]
Carter: Yeah, that can't be good.

[rough quote]
Carter We are not panicking, we are reacting. You say 'death ray,' we have a reaction!
Nathan: *You* said death ray.
Carter: It's a ray right? It causes immediate death, right?
[later, in the midst of a panicking crowd]
Carter: There's nothing to worry about, folks
Twin townspeople: But we heard it was a death ray!
Carter [laughing]: Oh, that's just a rumor.
Allison [looking at Carter]: A rumor from an idiot.

[as they are cutting into the floor to reach behind a computer to shut off the missile sequence]
Henry: Oh, it should take about five hours for me to drill through.
Computer speaker: Weapon will deploy in four hours.
[Henry and Nathan stare helplessly at the computer]
Nathan: Drill faster.
Henry: Yeah.

Nathan: Yes, he did say 'invisibling.' (seems like a really simple line, but....it's just so damn FUNNY.)

The writers/producers/director of the 200th episode of Stargate: SG-1 were on CRACK!

....I hope?

It was hilarious as all get-out, and the part where they had portrayed the SGC using puppets a la Team America was slightly creepy, and I really appreciated them bringing back Jack and Gen. Hammond (if only in voice acting, *sigh*), but......wow. They just....kinda took everything they probably been wanting to do for a while and just stuck it all in there and forgot to stir until smooth.......Almost exactly how they said it was in the commercials.

Still kinda weird, but I liked it. It's almost made me consider buying the tenth (Tenth? Okay, yeah, tenth) season. But I think I'm probably going to go with the original plan and just stop at 7. Thereafter Stargate kinda....loses luster. They just did away with so many of the originals, and I understand that it wasn't the writers' choice but the actors' mostly, but still. After losing Janet (I'm still not happy about that, *Insert ANGRY NOT-HAPPY FACE*) and then Hammond and then (the straw breaking the goat's back...or camel, if you're so insistent) Jack, I kinda lost interest. So, yeah, I'm thinking 7th's it for me.

But yeah. 200th episode? Way wacky. I'm positive I didn't get all the references. But the shipper in me was wishing that the wedding between Jack and Sam had been real (and the side comment Daniel made about people thinking he and Jack were the real couple was AWESOMELY FUNNY! And I swear it was a nod to the fanfiction community as well!). But at least we are assured in the fate of the Earth for the next ten years.....unless there's 20 seasons of Stargate, in which case that fate is no longer assured.

Going off the topic of Stargate (but not Sci-fi in general, so you non-Sci-Fi-ers [wow, that's a lot of hyphens] ought to skip down a bit) I like EUReKA (yes, the caps are intentional; if you see the title of the show you'd understand). It's enough zany-ness and seriousness and non-reality that it appeals to me. I'm trying not to get attached, though; most of my shows that I LOVE have a tendency to go *poof* because damn network executives are MORONS! (I'm still very bitter toward Fox about the Tru Calling and Firefly cancellations). But I like Jack Carter (though they could have picked a name that wasn't so common-place) because he's not the typical hero--people don't laugh at his jokes, he's not uber-quick on the uptake, and he's very much fallible while knowing how to fix his mistakes. The scene where he apologizes to his house for not calling ahead to inform it about being late (....yeah, I'm not going to explain it) is a hoot, and I love Henry (jack-of-all-trades indeed). But alas........it'll probably end before it has a chance to explore all its possibilities. Yes, I'm very pessimistic about my shows =P

I can't let any of my fanfics go as they are. Ever. I told myself I wouldn't write it, but I did it anyway. I wrote a prequel to my "Happy Birthday, Get Well Soon" fanfic *cue disappointed sighs by all the FFX fans*. I just had 2 little lines that popped up into my head, and then all of a sudden there's 3 pages written in a Word document. Why can't I ever just let one fic rest? *sigh*

I considered re-typing it onto my PC and posting it solely on LJ, but....with less than a month before I go back to school, I'm thinking I'll postpone it. Though I'm debating whether to post it on FF.net or not. Probably will, but it's only a 95% chance.

Don't have much more to write......So I'll end it here. Exciting conclusion, isn't it? Yeah, I thought so.

[after swerving the car off the road)
Carter: Are you okay?
Zoe: You call *this* protective custody?!
Carter: (groans) Oh, you're okay.

Zoe: Where are you going?!
Carter: To check the damage.
Zoe [in the back of a police car, grating and all]: And what if you don't make it back? I'll be stuck in here like those guys in the plane who had to eat each other!
Carter: You're right. (leans over to the glove box)
Zoe: I know!
Carter: Here, here's some ketchup. Start at your feet, work your way up.

Fargo: Um, you might want to be careful with this. It's a portable generator.
Carter: So?
Fargo: Ah, fission powered portable generator.
Carter: Okay. Don't sleep on the nuclear powered device. Good safety tip.

Jack: What's up?
Zoe: Organic chemistry is gonna kill me. What happened to you?
Jack: Organic chemistry almost killed me. --EUReKA