First order of business: I made a Maximilien and Valentin icon! ♥

My favorite Gankutsuou pairing! I cheered for them through the whole series. I was praying that Maximilien wouldn't go get himself killed, and that Valentin would recover from Heloise "Madame Busy Fingers" Villefort's fun with poisoning. I wanted to kill Madame Busy Fingers myself after she pulled that stunt on my beloved - and Maximilien's beloved - Valentin. That girl did not believe the pain she went through! But it went well in the end. I can safely assume that she and Max-the-Panda got married and will have a slew of redheaded babies together in Marseilles. I can also safely assume that Maximilien's love for Valentin will never fade. Hence the icon! Lots of texture work in this one, but it was worth it. And you can tell I was listening to Utada Hikaru when I made it. This One (Crying Like A Child) was the song/drug of choice. :D! The tinytext is "how could I ever love another?" and "I will love you for a thousand years." I want to use this song for another icon, with the "a whisper in the darkness disappears" or "living on my own." But Valentin and Max aren't living on their own, so I can't use that; I may use the other lyric for tinytext in a Monte-Cristo and Albert icon (my tinytext always says something). It's a Hikki explosion! I mean, I'm already planning to use Apple And Cinnamon for a Franz and Albert icon. W00t!

So. Finals are done. I'm confident that I did well, even on my Korean final, which was worrying me more than any of the others. Punch that shit, as they say in "Hot Fuzz."

I've been motivated to work on cosplay ever since Mandy/l_a_n_g_e_r and I went over to Holly's on Tuesday night to work. I feel like I got very little done, but making bias tape with the babysilk fabric I'm using for Natalia's dress is difficult and time-consuming. It took Holly and I over an hour to make one strip of bias tape, one yard long. That's insane and ridiculous and wrong. It takes five minutes to make a yard-long piece of bias tape out of cotton or a bottomweight. For my own good, I'm going to be careful to think about fabric choices in terms of details like buttons and bias tape in the future. Babysilk looks and feels beautiful, and is perfect for Natalia, but it's definitely a troublesome fabric to work with; it always has to be pressed and re-pressed. That's part of why I'm doing Peony out of cotton, broadcloth, and bottomweights. No silks or other blends. I'd tear my hair out and really have to resort to a wig. So anyway, over at Holly's, Mandy was doing her Beatmania cosplay, as was Holly, and as mentioned, I was working on Natalia. I'd like to work more on Natalia today, but first, Internet fuckery! It's the order of the day! (It's the order of every day. Such is the life of an addict.) I'm also determined to get Peony reference pictures, because I want to work on Peony, and to figure out whether I could even put myself in the Natalia swimsuit cosplay without having a wardrobe malfunction. World + me gone wild = no. Ash and Mandy are lucky; Jade's swimsuit cosplay is the Resort King bathrobe, and Tear has a one-piece white suit. What does Natalia wear?

Oh, yeah, that's right. This:



Don't Google image search that with safe search turned off, by the way. Or do, if that's your thing, and since it's totally my thing (boobs! :B Hurhurhurrrlolmaturity), I always have safe search disabled. I don't believe in censorship. But that's another rant for another time.

Anyway, that does not classify as a swimsuit in most countries except perhaps Brazil, and that doesn't count to me. Any country that invented the Brazilian wax has unrealistic beliefs about covering one's body. I'm getting better about being body-shy, but c'mon, jumping from Atoli and her bloomers and stockings to Natalia in her swimsuit is quite a leap. It's the difference between hydrogen and Lawrencium, almost. I don't know why I want to do this cosplay so badly. To prove something to myself and the world? To kick myself when fans the world over insult me for my presumption?

If I don't do swimsuit Natalia (Tropical Butterfly), I am going to do Star of Malkuth. I must be a masochist.

( Star of Malkuth, under the cut! Let's cheer for masochism! )

You would not believe the bullshit I went through to get these fucking pictures. I can't find the original swimsuit picture that Sir Snax printed for me, and I trolled through fifty-three pages of AnimeSuki forums looking for it, only to find out that either 1) that post has been deleted, or 2) the person's image hosting account is deactivated. What the fuck?! I got so frustrated that eventually, I settled for these crappy, low-res images. Even sharpened and cleaned up in PSP, they look...like stupid dreks. It's infuriating, 'cause this happens every time I need more reference pictures! Next time, we're moving to Guam! [/Rhea Pearlman in "Matilda"] Next time, we're cosplaying something with pictures that are easy to find, regardless of what costumes are involved! You know what that means, Ellipsis members: Code Geass, I choose you! Here comes the Squirtle Squad Rebellion!

"The word arse is as much god as the word face. It must be so, otherwise you cut off your god at the waist."

I just liked that quote, considering how bare-assed (arsed?) naked Natalia nearly is in her Tropical Butterfly costume.

I LOL'd at this one. possibly the most entertaining thing that ive seen in a while

It's time for this again!

If you'd like me to send you a Christmas card, please respond to this post with your address. Comments are screened. And if you'd rather not comment here, email me at HelloIrvy at gmail dot com. I plan to send cards around the 18th.

On my list so far:
vadalia
des_akazim
destry
momo
xifeng
birdrack

♥♥♥

K, so i laughed BUCKETS after watching this one. all yall pokemon lovers will DIE watching this, BTW

This. Makes me. Laugh. Like crazy, every time I watch it! I've been trying to learn the lyrics but I'm not great at Korean and it takes time and lots of practice. If I can memorize the bridge and chorus, I'll be satisfied.

I got a compliment today in Korean class, though, from a guy who went on his mission (he's LDS) in Seoul and who's in his second semester of Korean at BSU. He said our Korean conversation tutor, Suin, brags about my 받아쓰기 (padasseugi/dictation) in their lab session, and told him that he needs to be more "like Talyn. She's a first year and she gets none wrong. You need to study harder!" I laughed. I was like, "I'm not that good at Korean." To suck my own dick for a minute, I think I'm pretty good with languages. I tend to catch on pretty quickly most of the time, and I enjoy studying languages. It's one reason I'm jazzed up for Linguistics 305 next semester, and for my Japanese classes. I wish I could keep taking Korean. I love Korean culture and I've come to love the sound of the language, too, even if at first it threw me off because I'm so used to Japanese.

Hearing that Suin complimented me, though, I was excited. Apparently, she's been telling Professor Lee about our 받아쓰기 scores, too. o_o Please, let that keep my grade in the class high!

So anyway.

Mandy and I always scream, "씻어라, 씻어라!" (ssiseora, ssiseora!) at each other, like 2PM and 2AM in the video. I've started doing, "비누 비누 내개 가져다 줘!"(binu, binu, naegae gajyeoda jweo!) too. XD Frickin' that video. My life. Fuck it. XDDD

Tomorrow in Korean class is a class party, a last hurrah before the final. Lots of my classes are doing that this semester; it's a trend. My English 481 is doing the same thing, since we're just coming to our final to turn in portfolios and compare final drafts of our unit designs. I'm relieved that the worst of this semester is over. The English 481 portfolio is mostly work we've already turned in, revised if we feel less than confident about it, and three minor papers to be created especially for the portfolio. Not a huge deal. I'm not going to allow myself to stress out about it. できません!/Dekimasen! (The fellow Gankutsuou fandom fools on my friends list know what I'm talking about! I'm looking at yoooouu, l_a_n_g_e_r, leiko_yume, and momo!)

I'm sure I had something more to say when I started writing this entry, but I forgot it. I was too busy cackling over 2PM & 2AM's Brown Eyed Girls parody as the "Dirty Eyed Girls."

Also, X-Japan's 紅/Kurenai always gets stuck in my head and it needs to stop. It's mixing with the "Dirty Eyed Girls" and breaking my brain.

"The city is built / To music, therefore never built at all, / And therefore built forever."

Here's another meme! euphoric_aria tagged me for this one. I couldn't say no, even if I wanted to. Here goes!

( An about me kind of meme )

Actually, I just finished my portfolio for Educational Technology, after working on it for a week. I could strangle myself if I have to explain my rationale for using WebQuests as a teaching tool one more time - come to think of it, talking about any technology in teaching is going to sound immensely unattractive to me for at least a month from this point on. Blech. I'm exhausted from the homework overload today. As much as I wanted to go Christmas shopping with Mandy, I'm relieved she decided not to. I wouldn't be done with my portfolio yet and able to concentrate on my Korean presentation for tomorrow.

At least the presentation isn't too hard to memorize. Some of it is singing, which makes everything easier to memorize, if you ask me. I don't know if Axel would agree with me, but I bet he would. ^_~

So, left on my to-do list is: finish my portfolio for English 481, a.k.a. Teaching Literature for Use in Junior and Senior High Schools. Collect materials for my English 301 final, since it's an essay final but we can bring whatever we want to help us complete it. Work on memorizing my part for the Korean presentation. Die in a fire like Balmung after doing all this homework. Yeah, that's totally on my list.

In a way, I'm glad my hours look abysmal this week. I needed the three days off in a row to complete all this nonsense without staying up till three AM! I mean, fuck, this morning, I woke up so dizzy I could barely stand up in the shower, much less walk to the bathroom, which is right across the hall from my room. I threw up the medicine Mandy got for me, and I'm surprised I managed to get dressed and put my makeup on. D: Stupidly, I got behind the wheel of Sandrock Custom to drive to class in the below freezing weather, forgetting my scarf, hat, and gloves, and subsequently freezing to death. Luckily, my Korean conversation lab ended early because Suin didn't want to be there any more than we did, and my study group for the Korean presentation was at four, so I left lab and came home to take a long nap. It shook off most of the dizziness, and the nausea. I'm well enough now that I finally got food down and got hydrated, and polished off the aforementioned EdTech Portfolio of Doom and Gloom™. I'd better not be sick again tomorrow. It was such a random act of senseless illness. If it comes back, I'm getting it with a Kalashnikov in the night.

Everybody else, take care of yourselves! Don't get sick! Vitamin C is your best friend right now - it's definitely my best friend! Second to my kitty, whom I miss like candy. I need to go see him soon, or die trying.

"How we behave toward cats here below determines our status in heaven."

Ganked from euphoric_aria! (I've said it before, and I'll say it again: y'all should go read her writing. This lady is not only a sweetheart, but a great fic writer!)

...and you asked for it!

( Gross photo meme! )

Moving has been going well; the second bed is out of the-guest-room-that-is-now-my-room, and I'm going to move more furniture in tomorrow, depending on when I have use of the Yukon (Nora's car). I do have my dresser here, since it fit in my mom's RAV. Most of my clothes, except those that were in the laundry and a few random out-of-season pajamas, are at Mandy's house. Some of my books are there, and all my movies except the copy of "Spirited Away" that my brother hijacked are there, too. I'm getting settled in. I still miss Orange terribly, but he'll be there in about a week or so, once everything is settled in. We can't just stop the world and move all my belongings at once; it's a slow process, dodging school and work and searching out time to use the Yukon for furniture. Worked on it today, though, and I plan on making more progress tomorrow. I'm tired of thinking, "Oh, I want X - but it's back at Mom's house, with Y! Dammit!"

I'll tell you what I'm not tired of, though, and that's having people alive in the house, instead of no one to talk to and no one to eat dinner with. It's nice to socialize sometimes.

Don't get me wrong; I'm still a lunatic misanthrope who worships the fearless Leader of her Organization XIII and has the world's most sarcastic outlook (sometimes), but I like human interaction as much as the next cranky snarkbox. Which is to say that I secretly enjoy it. As comfortable as it can be, having the house to yourself, I like knowing there are other people home and involved in their hobbies, like I'm involved in mine, and I like cooking and consuming dinner with Mandy, Brady, and Nora. I like us all doing our homework in the living room with the TV on in the background, and Jill and Beau bouncing from lap to lap. They're such attention whorish dogs. Orange is only going to make it worse.

School's wrapping up; finals are next week. I have a portfolio due tomorrow for EdTech, and that's about sixty percent finished. I have another portfolio due next Thursday, the last day of finals, for one of my English teaching classes; I'll have a Korean final on Wednesday, and the other English class, which is an essay final, is on Tuesday. I'm going to be so relieved to have this semester out of the way. I am going to miss studying Korean, but it means I can go back to studying Japanese, and I can always keep the textbook and keep working on my own. I need more practice reading Hangul, anyway.

I hope all my finals go well, and that this semester ties itself up nicely. I hope the same for all my friends out there, enjoying the same joy that is dead week and finals week! ♥ Best of luck to y'all!

I've been tagged for another meme, but I'm gonna do that one for my next post. I've already forced you to endure one meme tonight! ^^6

"As is our confidence, so is our capacity."