Summer Archive [2002]
June 14 ~ September 3
[Tuesday] September 3, 2002
Ok. So I lied. I haven't reformatted yet, because of...dum dum dummm! Ebay auctions! Go check 'em out! Don't worry, it's all cool stuff, I just need more money. (like always) ^_~
So here! PLUG! Click on this link to see all I've got for sale!
Ok. Now, for real, I won't be bloggin' for a while, because I'm calling Gateway for my computer problems TODAY! Really!
~Noelle's reflection faded at 12:15 PM~
[Monday] September 2, 2002
Wow. September. Normally you'd think of
nice cool breezes, autumn leaves, and general niceness. But noooo... down
in LA we get SUMMER! Argh. It's so hot, it hurts to move. Seriously. Next
time, I think I'm gonna go for a swim. Hehe. Haven't done that in a while.
^_~ I've pretty much spent my weekend vegging, and playing FF8. Now it's
just getting tedious since I'm towards the end, but what the hell. I'll
finish the darn thing just in time for Kingdom Hearts! Mwhehehe.
Just a side note: Guess who's going home after summer session???? Yessss!
What does this mean? I get to escape
from dum dum dum!!!!! NOSY BOYFRIEND(S)! Well, really, it's only Jimmy
that pisses me off, but still. Having both of 'em in the house ALL the
time just gets me pissed. I mean, getting thrown outta the room for a few
hours is ok compared to sticking around this guy. It just annoys me to see
him. Hence, this doodle. Made me smile a bunch just drawing it in LS4.:-)
Haha! Kung Fu can beat KSR butt anyday! Man. Acting all haughty juuust
cause you have a heavy sword... well, heads up buster. I can whip out a
tai chi sword and staff, so WATCH OUT!
Well, hey! I finally finished
chapter nine of my FFX fanfic! Go check it out and tell me what you think!
In the meantime, I'll be working on ideas for number ten. And check out
that Yuna doodle up there. It's a little idea of what I imagine her
blitzin' uniform to look like. Not exactly though. 
Here's some random doodles. Isn't Wolfwood (Trigun) just sooo cool? And Rikku, she deserves some spotlight, ya? Even though I'm more of a Yuna fan, I'm lookin' forward to her part of the FFX Side stories too. Damn Squaresoft, you know just how to make me give you all my money willingly...
And thank you, computer! This is my *second* attempt at doing this thing, thanks to my randomly locking keyboard and mouse! Oh, how wonderful. Well, I just finished up backing up my hard drive, so later on in the week, (Tuesday, that is) I'm gonna call Gateway and get this sucka reformatted! BOOYA! Well, this also means that I'll lose Frontpage for a little bit, so until I get my hands on the software again at home, my blogging and fanfic writing are on hiatus.
Right now, I'm just hoping the milk'll get to me soon... I really need to sleep! Sleeeep...
Well, till next time, see ya 'round!
~Noelle's reflection faded at 2:30 AM~
[Sunday] August 25, 2002
Have I mentioned that finding yourself a new AIM Buddy Icon just really really sucks?! Well, if I haven't, I just did. ^_^ I just ended up getting another Motoko (Love Hina) one, since that's what I'm most comfortable with, I guess. If I knew had to make good ones, I would, I would!
*Ahem* anyways, it's been a pretty
stressful for week for me so far. Didn't do so hot on my LS4 midterm all
cause of stupid mistakes, forgot about an English Quiz on Friday (because
of my little AIM problem...^_~) and just spent my entire Sunday writing up
my 4-5 page English paper. I would rest, but I've got *another* LS4 test
coming up Friday that I'm determined to do well on! So... more studying
for me, though it really is hard to get into the mindset with it being
summer and all.
School issues aside, are hmm? What else?
Apartment issues. Yes, we don't have just 4 girls under one roof, but 2
boyfriends as well! It's like hmm. Don't you guys EVER go home?! Can you
EAT any more?! Can you be any more stupid and turn on the AC at 9:00 at
night?! Can you be ANY more nosy?! You don't live here, dammit! Geeeez.
Haha. I know they don't actually read this thing, but me and Jen are
planning to regulate sometime in the near future.
As you can probably tell with the doodles, I'm still getting a kick out of FF8. (And for some random reason, I felt like drawing Akira from Rival Schools...)There are some really silly plot things in the game, (Ex. Oooh! By some unknown coincidence we all grew up in the same orphanage! I can't believe I forgot!!!) but I think I've got a greater appreciation for it now. It helps when you actually pay attention to the game without having to concentrate on getting all of the secrets instead. :-)
Oh. And I've got computer problems, and they might have to replace my motherboard! *GASP!* So if all of a sudden I can't reply to you on AIM, that might mean either my mouse or keyboard just up and died. Give me time to restart!
And hear me out! I swear I'm going to finish Ch. 9 of my FFX fanfic by the end of the month!
~Noelle's reflection faded at 11:55 PM~
[Monday] August 20, 2002
BOOYA! Same as Tifa the other day, but hey! Zell's the fighter in
FF8, and it's his trademark! He's so cooool. ^_^ Haha. So what's with the
sudden FF8 rush? I juuuust started replaying the game right from the
beginning. I didn't remember much about it the first time through, so
that's why. Triple Triad, the card game, still sucks (I *used* to be good
at it, dammit!) but now that I'm older, I think I appreciate the
characterization more. I mean, Zell! He's so funny. And I forgot how cool
(and cutely stubborn) Rinoa is. The fact that she's a dog person is an
added plus. And hey! Her hair is the closest to how mine's cut (and maybe
highlighted) out of all of the Final Fantasy girls. Go Rinoa! Though hmm.
Squall really is a moody jerk so far.
Speaking of Rinoa, here she is! Hah. Might has well drawn Tidus and
Yuna again. Why do I say this? Here's a cool fact: Mayuko Aoki and
Masakazu Morita, the Japanese seiyuus for Tidus and Yuna, were Zell and
Rinoa's motion actors for FF8 before that! Cooolios. If you knew that
already, kudos to you. ^_^
Wanna know something funny? After whittling the weekend away with FF8, I realized I had homework for Monday at... 11:30 (ish) PM on Sunday! I was like "Aaaaaaah!" in the middle of writing the next chapter of my FFX fic. Fortunately things worked out, and I was tired as heck today in school; falling asleep at the beginning of LS4 lecture. Hey. If you had to listen to a lecture about bacteria for 2 hours, I bet you'd fall asleep too!
~Noelle's reflection faded at 9:17 PM~
[Saturday] August 17, 2002
Noelle's back and she's on a ROLL! ^_^ Nothing to do this weekend
where school is concerned, absolutely NOTHING. Well, only after finishing
up the Genetics midterm and English paper + quiz on Friday, but hey! It's
over! All that business is what's been delaying my blogging, if you were
wondering. Well... what's happened in a week? A lot actually (this is
gonna be long...), and a lot of doodling too. :-) So if you see waaaay too
many pictures this post, now you know why.
First off, I wanna start on how ANNOYED I am with garbage trucks.
This has been a problem ever since I moved in to the new apartment. I
mean, EVERYDAY a garbage truck (or two or three) comes in the morning (the
time varies) and wakes both me and Jen up. Here's an example of the daily
ritual (save Sunday, thank God.)
[Clock reads 8:30]
Truck outside the window: VRRROOOMCRASHCRASHBOOOM#$&*$&(*^&*(!!!!!!
Noelle + Jen: *Groan...* (Both go back to sleep shortly)
[Clock reads 10:30]
Truck outside the window: @#&*($*&%(&%*(#)VROOOOOMBOOMBANGCRASHCRASH!!!!!
Noelle + Jen: (grumpy) AGAIN?!?!?!?
Geez, there seems to be one
right outside the window right now. I mean, does this street really have
that much garbage?! We may never know. 
Hmm... Sexy guys. ^_^ I dunno, I just felt like drawing them at the time! Now back to the regularly scheduled blogging...
Recent accomplishments: Getting better at Rikku's Theme from the FFX Piano Collections, and even closer to the real thing on Suteki Da Ne. Jen wants me to learn the piano part of Vanessa Carlton's "Thousand Miles" so I can be cool and sing and play at the same time. The piano part's a bit boring by itself to learn, but I guess I'll try. Oh yeah. Since people keep coming here looking for Vanessa Carlton Sheet Music (and some Final Fantasy) I've decided to post some up! Check the side bar for the link, or click here. Here's to all the freeloading piano players out there! ^_~
Random side note (again): The Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne anime really sucks. I mean, REALLY sucks. And hey! I just got a rush of Blade of the Immortal fandom! (Awesome manga, by the way...) And here's my current wallpaper! That is all. ^_^
Now I would rant about how boyfriends are NOT roommates right now, but I guess I'll save that for later. I mean, they haven't bothered me directly yet, so things are ok for now.
I'm really gonna try and work on my FFX fanfiction this weekend. Freedom like this doesn't come very often. Hopefully people out there are still following my work even with my notoriously erratic updating schedule...
Alright. Last thing. See that picture
over there? <--- Yeah, it's Yuna, yeah it's in my sketchbook, and I'm
thinking of coloring it. Shad (a.k.a. Jill ^_~) has done a great job
critiquing it already. What do you think of it? Drop me an IM or email
before I make a time commitment to it. ^_^
Jody! I'm SO glad you're getting addicted to FFX! Mwahaha. Another convert!
~Noelle's reflection faded at 3:07 PM~
[Saturday] August 10, 2002
I've done it. I really really did. It's finally over! And SUCH an accomplishment! Never mind that it took me almost 80 hours to do, it's the end result that counts. So, by now you're probably wondering "What the HECK is she talking about?!" Hmm... you wanna know? Huh? Huh?
I BEAT XENOGEARS!!!!!!
Never mind that the anime scene dubbing is laughable, there was a bunch of unnecessary naked people running around in the ending, and the game was convoluted as heck with it's plot, I 'm still glad I played it. Sure, I got tired of the endless random battles, and I didn't get all the secrets, but I BEAT IT! And that's what counts.
Side note: I beat the game just around 30 minutes ago from this post! Cool, huh? ^_^
~Noelle's reflection faded at 2:38 AM~
[Thursday] August 8, 2002
Hi again. :-) Just a few days after, and I think I'm doin' alright.
Just losing myself in school related things usually takes my mind off of
the other things going on. So yeah, I'm ok. Go with the flow, and things
will get better right? I certainly hope so.
Now off to my "normal" random spiels:
1.) Whoa. It sucks the one day you go to Mandarake it's CLOSED. On a *Tuesday.* What's the world coming to?
2.) You know something's wrong when a 99 ranch doesn't sell Tinapa. (Smoked Milkfish) I mean, are you gonna just leave all us Filipinos starving?!
3.) The things people don't know these days... "Why is this in the fridge?"
The Auron up there is from LS4 lecture, as was the Enishi before. I drew a Yuna too, but the scanner picked up on my mistakes a little *too* clearly; so I'm kinda embarrassed to put it up. I'm still working on getting better at drawing girls, (since I am one, darnit.) so give me a bit of time. I'm thinking of taking my sketchbook out with me to campus instead of doodling in my notebooks all the time.
Sounds productive, huh? Now don't go giving me that look... ^_~
~Noelle's reflection faded at 9:51 PM~
[Monday] August 5, 2002
You know the beginning of most romance movies? There's the single girl, sad, miserable, and depressed, just waiting for the right guy to come along. Luckily, this problem gets solved in the course of about 2 hours, and BAM! Happily ever after.
It just sucks when your life loops the beginning part over and over and over...
I usually don't notice it, and hide my feelings under a smile, but every now and then, I remember. And I don't want to. And I just want to go home. I'm just...kinda sad. I'll get out of it eventually. Just give me time to forget...
~Noelle's reflection faded at 6:58 PM~
[Saturday] August 3, 2002
Yo! Hisashiburii ne? ^_^ Lots has happened in just a week, so here goes super ultra condensed form!
Moving day:
Mom & Dad: Ok, let's get going! (Drive for 6 hours to LA)
Noelle: Oy, it's hot.
Living in the apartment for a week:
I am SO sick of Asado already... ugh. (after eating it 3 days straight...)
Playing Xenogears hours upon hours:
Noelle: Did they just...?!
Jen: This game is so.... KINKY!
After watching Goldmember on Thursday:
[Noelle, Jody and Carlo attempt to cross the street]
Jen + Charles: Hey, a fire truck's coming this way!
Noelle + Jody: (points) It's going THAT way! (keep walking)
[The fire truck makes a turn signal and comes our way, sirens blaring]
Noelle + Jody: Ahhhhhh!
Ok. There really is a lot more, but I've been SO lazy ever since I got to LA. (Meaning, I don't want to type it out.) No cable yet, school starts on Monday, and I went on tons of shopping sprees for food and my own furniture. Ack. All that money. Gone. Kaput! Makes me wish I had a job. Maybe. Or maybe just a garden where money grows in trees? That would be AWESOME.
~Noelle's reflection faded at 6:36 PM~
[Thursday] July 25, 2002
I finally did it, yes I did! *Just* finished that chapter of my FFX fic I've been delaying for like the longest time. Check it out! And if you do, leave a review and tell me what you think!
What was really sad about that last accomplishment was that I had to pack up my PS2 first so I couldn't play it. After I didn't have access to it, my productivity *soared*. Haha. I think I'm getting a wee bit addicted.
Thinking of re-layering my hair either today or tomorrow. How short? Hmm. How about just below the shoulder? How does that sound? I really wanna get highlights along with the cut, but it's really expensive where I go. I saw a few shops around Westwood advertising $35 highlights, so I guess I'll try it out when I get there.
Since I've got most of my stuff packed, I've been just plain *bored* around the house lately. So if you see me online more than usual, now you know why. ^_^
~Noelle's reflection faded at 12:11 AM~
[Monday] July 22, 2002
Yo! Been a
while since I've drawn
anything, huh? Here ya go. Something outta my sketchbook. Color?
Maybe...probably not. It
takes waaay too long, and I gotta pack! I'm movin' out to LA by the end of the week. *Sigh* It's
been swell, Bay Area. ^_^
Oh, looking at the link and getting confused? I had an idea one day (back during Finals week, haha) about how the heck everyone runs around with Tidus in FFX when all you see is HIM running around in the streets! So all that's going on is Rikku leading the group around to Home, (+ Yuna, whoops) wondering about that "extra baggage" Tidus seems to be carrying. ^_~
It may not seem like it, but drawing this stuff takes a looong time! It's hard to get stuff looking "right", especially when it comes to fanart. I guess the same could apply to fanfiction; which I keep procrastinating on, whoops. And hey! Wanna know about my funny Dim Sum story? Here we goooo!
At Jade Villa (Oakland Chinatown) with Mary, Emil, and Emil's family...
[Beef Noodle Lady comes around with her cart]
Lady: (Shouts something in Chinese)
Emil: Ok, we'll have one of those...
Noelle: You know what *I'm* waiting for? The SHRIMP lady! Mmm...Walnut prawns...
Mary: Yummm.... Hey, watch out! (Pokes chopsticks at the beef noodles) Poke Poke...
Emil: And those things you always eat at 99 Ranch? (Note: the green bell pepper shrimp :-D)
[The porridge lady, the steamed bun lady, the spare ribs lady, and all of the other kinds of cart ladies pass by our table, which was FAR away from most of the people in the restaurant by the way...]
Noelle: MAN! Guess she's not working today...(Spots a lady in the corner giving out some shrimp balls) AH! There she is!
[All the people over there empty her cart]
Mary: Hey, where'd she go?
Noelle: *Sigh* oh well. [Stabs at a dumpling]
[We all finish up, and pay the bill]
Emil's aunt: Guess you'll have to get shrimp next time, ha?
Noelle: Yeah...
[We all get ready to go when...]
[The Shrimp lady comes out of nowhere pushing her cart slowly, then STOPPING in front of our table]
Shrimp Lady: (Shouts something in Chinese)
Noelle: OH GEEZ!
---> cue Emil's endless jokes about how the shrimp lady avoided us through various tactics <---
Ok. That's it outta me. Hope you enjoyed my spiel! Peace out, yo.
~Noelle's reflection faded at 3:14 AM~
[Friday] July 19, 2002
Slow update, huh? Here's the reason:
I got ALL the dog tags in Metal Gear Solid 2! *Dances*
Extreme mode is so HARD! (would've been harder if I hadn't had Stealth...) Imagine getting through the whole game on ONLY two rations. Including boss fights which included busting down a missile packed-machine gun blasting harrier jet and bringing down twenty Metal Gear Rays! (which I managed to escape without using up a precious ration) But you know what was REALLY hard? The part where you have to push the triangle button down as fast as you can. (Y'know, that part with Solidus) On Extreme, the oxygen just went down so ridiculously fast that I had to find a strategy to beat it. Gamefaqs, that Mecca of videogame knowledge helped me out once again. ^_^ Who woulda thunk rolling a AA battery back and forth over the button would help move that button extra fast?
Though after getting the clear code and going to the Japanese website, the reward for so much work really wasn't all that great. I mean, geez! They coulda released some *exclusive* artwork, or made better wallpapers or even better, dropped some hints about MGS3!!!! Oh well. Such is life. There is some odd satisfaction in getting absolutely *everything* in the game though. It's kinda like knowing that you got your money's worth.
Now, after pulling myself away from my PS2, I've realized I'm in a bit of a pinch for my move in situation coming up at the end of this month (whoo, that's soon!). Problem is, I kinda need a bed, but IKEA (even with online orders) insists I go to the actual store to have it ordered and delivered. I might just go to a mattress store in the area (I'm getting a digital piano in town too) or if someone's got a pickup truck.... ^_^
Just wrote a bit more of the next chapter of my FFX fanfic... kinda weird how I'm lazy when it comes to fanfic writing even when I have lots and lots of free time! Maybe summer school and the reintroduction of a schedule *GASP!* will help with that. But lately, I'm feeling a little left out of the fanfiction community. I kinda miss all that fan mail/IM's. If anyone from ff.net's reading this, drop me a line, k? I need some encouragement!
And damn Jen! You must really like blogs to visit so often! (check out my sitemeter statistics. That ISP *is* you, isn't it? If it isn't, sorry!) Hmm...you know what? You should start a blog of your own! It's pretty cool to have a webpage all about YOU, y'know? Few things allow you to be so self-centered. ^_^
This entry's getting kinda long, so I'll save my funny Dim Sum story for another time.
~Noelle's reflection faded at 1:47 AM~
[Thursday] July 11, 2002
I just saw Iron Monkey for the first time (on DVD, thanks Emil!) and WOW! It's soooo coool! Now I don't know if I prefer the stylishness of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or the frenetic action of Iron Monkey. Choices choices... At least it's nice watching some moves I actually recognize...kinda. I think the only thing I *really* caught was that Eagle Claw technique. The other stuff was like hmm...guess I've seen that before...somewhere. Maybe I caught some of the staff stuff too. I can't swing it nearly as well as the little boy in the movie! Whoo! Anyway, before I ramble too much about it, I don't think I'll be able to see it again. Why? DVD copyright protection even when recording to a VCR! Waaaah. They even stop the little pirates like me!
Speaking of pirated stuff, I tried to install a cracked version of Windows XP today with icky results. The process was pretty much something I didn't want to go through again, so I'll just stick with my (working) Windows ME for now. Well, until I decide to just give up and buy the *real* version like a real consumer should...hehe.
I know we're not all connected 24/7 by the AIM network anymore since it's summer, but still! Drop me an email! Give me a call! If you just feel like chatting, I'd love to hear from you! My info's all in the UCLA directory.
That's it! Thanks for reading. ^_^
~Noelle's reflection faded at 12:37 AM~
[Wednesday] July 10, 2002
I know, I know, it's been a while. Forgive me, I've got that horrible thing that you get in the summer called being a LAZY BUTT! So heh. Over here in the Bay Area, the temp's rising to the triple digits this week. Waaah. The moment I step outside I feel like I'm in a toaster oven! (Not that I've ever been in one.)
Wait till I get into the summer school grooove and Ms. Productive me will make her return! Well, that is if I was ever productive to begin with. ^_~
So hey! Something happened! (miracle!) Emil's sister got married this Saturday! And I was there tagging behind Emil the whole day (11AM~11PM) since his HUMONGOUS family was a little intimidating. Weird that now people think we're going out (again). Not that I could blame 'em, it's happened with my family already. ^_^ Well, if we're still single by sixty, we're just gonna get married to each other. Sounds like a plan, huh? (And yup, it's for real.) Had fun eating and dancing at the reception, though I do wish I could actually dance. Now where's Sean Patrick Thomas (from Save the Last Dance) when you need him? Haha. That and ballroom dancing too. I think that would be a kick to learn. ^_^
Oh yeah. I've been craving a fighting game ever since I got my PS2, and I finally broke down at the beginning of this week and got Capcom vs. SNK 2! I know, no price drop on it yet, but oh well. Gotta give in to the urrrrrge! And hmm. My thumb's getting kinda sore from doing all those quarter circles and such on the D-pad, so restin' from the game...for now. Next fighting game on my list... Soul Calibur 2! Whenever and if ever it comes out. At least I've got Kingdom Hearts to look forward to. It's been a while since I've looked forward so much to something Disney. Guess I gotta get in touch with my inner child... or something. ^_^
Anything else you ask? Got the outline for my next FFX fanfic chapter goin'; when I'll actually write it is anyone's guess. And, dum dum DUMMMmmm! More from the realm of *Noelle's Cooking Adventures!* I have now learned how to cook Lumpia and Turon! Both equally good, and both equally oily. Better frying experience this time around though!
Noelle: [puts a roll into the oil] Hey, it's not popping! Wow....
Pan: Fizzle fizzle...
Noelle: [puts another roll in, but from a little too high]
Pan: SPLASH! Fizzle fizzle....spurt!
[Oil falls from the pan on Noelle's bare foot in flip flops]
Noelle: OWwwwwies! [splashes cold water on it]
Pan: Mwahahahahaha....
Ok. So maybe it was more my fault this time. But I think I'm getting the hang of this cooking thing! Pretty cool, huh? No more of the days where I go starvin' because my mom forgot to cook! Yay!
Well, besides that, I've been shopping around for a good 88-key digital piano. Those things are PRICEY! (Takasugitaaaa!) So I'm gonna have to compromise somewhere in all of my furniture expenses. But hey! Being able to finally play "Suteki Da Ne" from FFX Piano Collections will make it all worth it. ^_^ It's tough, but the more I work at it, I'm sure I'll get it someday!
~Noelle's reflection faded at 12:54 AM~
[Monday] July 1, 2002
Maaan. Missed the last day of June by minutes!!! Darn. Oh well. ^_~
Since my mom's friend from the Philippines just came over to visit us for a few days, I've been out all day in the city! (SF, for people not familiar with the lingo ^_^) It's been like *forever* since I last rode a cable car... I can't even remember the last time I did! Also got to see crab filled Fisherman's Wharf and a glimpse of Pier 39. Last time I saw these places was about two years ago in High School, complete with the famous homeless man who scares passerby from behind a fake bush. Ah...memories. It's nice to do touristy stuff just to get to know your local stuff a bit better.
And wouldn't you know it, I caught the gay pride parade AGAIN! No matter how I try, I can't avoid it! Not that it's a bad thing, it's just weird that I somehow manage to see it every single year. My mom and her friend got a kick out of it though. Especially with the people dressed up in the funky costumes.
A majority of my time in the city however was spent in the shopping district with my dad; (Market/Mission) a place I frequent almost every vacation I get. ^_^ Got some nice stuff at Gap and A&F on sale, had some Frappuccino time at Starbucks, and went around the Playstation and Sony Style store at the Metreon to gape at things I could possibly never ever have. Plasma TV's, Dream sound systems, and PRETTY computers.
*Sigh* It's nice to dream isn't it?
~Noelle's reflection faded at 12:33 AM~
[Thursday] June 27, 2002
Another day in...dum dum DUMMMmm!!! *Noelle's cooking adventures!* I got Arrozcaldo (aka Lugaw? Is that how you spell it? Hmm.) goin' well, and my mom asks me to fry Tofu. The whole experience pretty much was like...
Pan: Fizzle fizzle POPOPOPOPOPOPOP!!!!
Noelle: Ow! [Flips a piece] OW!
Pan: Fizzle fizzle MWAHAHA! FIzzzzzz....
Noelle: -_- This sucks. Ow.
I finished MGS2 again...and again...and again last night. (well, the Tanker part anyway) Off to get more goodies those dog tags can get me! And just for the record, Snake is waaaaay cooler than Raiden (and the backtracking in the Plant part just sucks). Now if Raiden suddenly became tall, dark n' handsome just like the MAN, he'd be ok in my book. ^_^
Yup. Random thought today. Wait. That's like everyday. Whoopsies. Now, to clean or not to clean (my room)? That is the question.
~Noelle's reflection faded at 10:28 PM~
[Tuesday] June 25, 2002
Hiya! Another day of not nothing! Monday *was* nothing so hmm. Isn't kind of sad that I only know the day because of my handy dandy Far Side Calendar? Last summer I remember asking "What day is it?" like every 3 days just to make sure I knew when the weekend was coming up. Makes ya realize how much school (or work) makes you so attentive about dates, times, etc. Ex: "WHEN IS IT OOOOoooover?!" ^_~
Gosh darn it! My FFX Sheet Music out of STOCK?! I knew I shoulda gone to Japantown...
And I just saw the FFX figures in the anime store today. Whoa! They're HUGE! Auron's probably the size of the monitor part of my screen! Whooo...
And hey! Today's my cuz EJ's B-day! He's a big 9 today! We DDRed a bunch with Konamix (unlocked lotsa songs! Yay!) and we had a mocha roll from Goldilocks to celebrate. YUM. It's nice getting together with all the family. Makes coming home all the more better. ^_^ But hmm. Since I'm the only one with the car at off-work hours, I've become the family's driver! Someone sees me with the car and out comes...
"Noelle, can you pick up / drive [me]/[name] to ____ at _____?"
Of course I'm gonna say yes! It's my family, yo! And heck. Sure beats the heck outta staying at home doing nothing but sleeping or staring at the computer screen. Hey...that's what I'm doing now...isn't it? Okay. Gonna wrap up and play some Metal Gear Solid 2. Nothing beats the satisfaction of nailing something (or someone) with STINGERS! ^_^
~Noelle's reflection faded at 9:54 PM~
[Sunday] June 23, 2002
Wow! An actual day of NOT nothing! Hehe. Spent the day with my parents, and hey, it's really nice going out with them once in a while. ^_^
Anyway, took a day out in Daly City to see...The Flip Side! Before you go all "BAH! Pinoy movie!" on me, I just happen to like seeing Filipinos on the big screen. Yeah, cultural references are abound that no one else would get, but hey! It's like being part of a BIG in-joke. Sort of. These kind of movies, like The Debut, even if they are low budget, low profile films compared to the Hollywood blockbusters, they deserve a chance. Wanna have a hint at the Filipino family dynamic? These movies don't hit it right on, but they do get pretty darn close. Sure, I'm not part of Samahang Pilipino at UCLA, but I still have some pride in me. ^_^ I even got a shirt! And it's not as blatantly Filipino as The Debut shirt, so not as many people would be giving me weird looks...^_~
We *were* planning to go visit Japantown right after, but waah. Going that far was too out of the way for today I guess. I'll get that FFX Sheet Music online then! Mwahaha! Well, since I'm planning on getting a full 88-key keyboard for the apartment too... I need something to play, riiight? ^_^
And darn you ff.net! Getting my hopes up...I uploaded the new chapter and everything and BOOM! Down again. Argh. You BETTER work on Monday like you said! I want my reviews! ^_^
Didn't want to change the layout, and I DO tend to write a lot lately, so smaller fonts and a dash of Enishi color! Just in case you were wondering.
~Noelle's reflection faded at 8:40 PM~
[Friday] June 21, 2002
Before I forget: Check out this music video by my buddy Timmeh! (a.k.a firerules16, and um. Tim. ^_~) Interesting bit: did you know he was born only one day before me? (11/22/'82) Now isn't that a cool coincidence? November babies are *always* the coolest. ^_^
Anyway, if you like the couples in FFVIII, FFIX, and FFX, go and try it out! Well...he's been having bandwidth issues lately, so if you can't get it, just ask me for it! It's soooo worth it. And heck, I don't even watch fan made music videos that often! In my humble opinion, the clips were awesome, especially the Squall and Rinoa dancing scenes. Whooo...been I while since I've seen those!
~Noelle's reflection faded at 1:48 PM~
***********
So hmm. A whole week between updates, and you're probably asking, what's up with me? Well besides a really messed up sleep schedule (sleeping at 4AM, waking up at 12 PM ^_~) I really haven't been doing anything really blog worthy, let me tell you that. Ok, here's what I have so far:
1.) Burned Fruits Basket and Inu Yasha off my HD. This took longer than you think. Let's see YOU try burning 90+ eps of anime with a 4x CD burner. *Sigh...*
2.) Learning how to cook! I cooked dinner for me and my family for the last few days. Not perfect yet, but it will be by the time I move into the apartments! At least I'm feeling just a tad more self sufficient. ^_^
3.) Wrote another chapter of my FFX fanfic! Too bad ff.net is down. Again. Gosh darnit, I'd post it here, but I luv them reviews too much. ^_~
4.) Since I *have* been doing close to nothing during the day, I watched through the whole FFX DVD thingy I got in the mail. I've gotten used to the Japanese voices, though I do more translation on my part than I'm supposed to for a *subtitled* video...
5.) Piano stuff! I've been playing as much as I can, and I learned the intro to Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles." The problem is playing the rest of the song. What if I want to play the melody *and* the accompaniment? I try making up my own chords, but that's kinda ick in a five sharp key. I guess if you don't mind me singing...^_~
It seems like a lot, but really. It's not. Updated Carlo's blog link (and Jody's a while back too.) I'd join livejournal (the comment leaving thing is cool!) but I like having nifty layouts like this. Plus, working with Frontpage is CHOU easy.
Just got in some grades for Physics and Chem. Pretty good news for Chem, and ok for Physics I guess. You know my biggest pet peeve when it comes to school? Getting the B+ whenever I'm at the borderline. I mean geez! Just tip me over a few points and A- territory! Waaah! Those teachers like bumping me down, I swear. And I must be only off by 5 points or something. I know I should be proud of a grade like that, but I guess the perfectionist in me from my High School days is crying out for that long gone *high* GPA.
Oh yeah. The person searching for my blog on google with things like "noelle's reflection," etc. is that you Christian? If it isn't, sorry! And if it is, tell me how your FFX DVD set is subtitles wise! Oh yeah, how's Puerto Rico? ^_^
Whoa. That turned out pretty long, didn't it? And here I thought I had nothing to write about!
~Noelle's reflection faded at 1:45 AM~
[Sunday] June 16, 2002
Yo! I'm baaaack! So soon you say? Well, I really don't have much to do...yet. But hey! I got my FFX DVD set in today (Sat.), and wah. Since it was by the same company that did Carlo's Trigun set, I thought it was gonna be almost close to perfect presentation and translation wise. Boy was I wrong. For one, a big green M (for manga) stays in the corner for the *whole* time, and the translations...um. Let me just say those Hong Kong people have a knack for picking names (and other words...) that have NO relationship to the real ones! If anything, they're good for a laugh or two the first time through. I'm SO glad I can understand Japanese just a bit, it helps fill in holes where a verb, pronoun or whatever gets dropped. ^_~ Here's some interesting switcharoos I saw:
Wakka = Walter
Chappu = Charles
Lulu = Wendy (for one subtitle only ^_^)
Yuna = Yonna
Kimahri = Christopher
Besaid = Brad
Sin = Torture (literal interpretation I guess?)
Tromell Guado = Tom Hell Chubby (Yes, they are called the Chubby race according to the subtitles...^_~)
But hey, don't get me wrong, I'm still happy about getting this DVD since I get to hear the Japanese voices for the game (finally!). I still believe Tidus has the best voice in that version, (it's nice and deep ^_^) and heck! It's nice to see the characters actually look like they're saying what they're saying! So yes, that means Yuna doesn't talk as much with her mouth closed, thank you very much. Speaking of Yuna, I think I like her even more now cause her Japanese seiyuu is awesome! Well hmm. That goes for almost everyone. *Anyway*, that's enough outta me. More pics up of...ME! (and my friends) You've found out where they are already...right?
Jody! Sign on (or email me) so I can get more pics (of not me) up here! ^_^
~Noelle's reflection faded at 1:14 AM~
[Friday] June 14, 2002
Looking for the old stuff? Click here.
Hey everyone! Made it back home safely! (How else would I be typing this out?) Well, I get to lounge lots for a month and 10 days till apt./summer school call me back to LA. In the meantime, yours truly will be living out of suitcases. ^_~
Got Utada Hikaru's new album Deep River from Jody! You're soooo cool.
I also got a *normal* (*GASP!* How rare is that?!) FFX gag doujinshi in the mail today! The FFX DVD set with the Japanese voices and everything will have to wait till I get to the post office tomorrow. ^_^ I practically laughed out loud in the back of my dad's smooshed (with my stuff) car when I saw this page, so I decided to share it will you all! Click here, and follow along!
1st panel: Tidus wonders what Yuna *really* does in the Chamber of Trials at each temple.
2nd part: For the next 3 panels, the little blurb says "While praying." ^_~
3rd panel: Yuna: Sorry for the wait! Let's go to the next one! Side Blurb: (Being a Summoner is hard work I think...)
Hehe. I think this scan is what sold me to this doujin in the first place. Yuna lifting weights? Where else can you see that?! Many other gags abound in this one, but I won't scan 'em cause I'm lazy. ^_^ Check this out instead. Yuna with tonfas? I think it's a pretty cool idea...
Oh wait. Finals? Hmmm...I wish I could say "YEAH! I ACED THEM ALL! MWAHAHAHA!" but nah. I guess I did ok. Maybe. ^_~ I have this annoying habit of beating myself up mentally when I can't figure out an answer, resulting in my agonizing for an hour or more, when I should've left early. And umm...that happened at every final I had this quarter. Darn me and my inefficient memory recall! I'll check my grades...someday.
Emil, Tupperware, and a Teddy Bear named "Blund." Confused? Let me say it has something to do with weird IKEA names for things. ^_~
For now, rest! I can do that without it being procrastination! Hmm...I think I'm bored already!
~Noelle's reflection faded at 11:07 PM~