Orange Juice, Anyone?

I forgot to mention the crazy dream I had last night. It was long, and most of it was fairly uninteresting. The part I wanted to share was near the end when I changed from myself to Winry from Full Metal Alchemist. Don't know why that happened, but at one point I was no longer myself, but Winry. Anyway, I/Winry was looking for Ed for some reason (but really, when is she in the show and not looking for Ed?) and I ended up in an indoor jungle (don't ask me, I don't know either) and I saw Riza and Roy and some General guy sitting under a palm tree. Roy and the General were sitting at a table and there was a fruit juicer on the table between them. (I know that this showed up simply because I had been using a juicer instruction manual for reference on a project I worked on the day before). So, all the anime characters were in 3-d, but they still looked exactly like anime characters--same proportions, etc. Did you know that anime characters are extremely freaky when they're not flat? I seriously couldn't even look at Roy very long because he totally freaked me out. But I just found it really amusing that the whole time he was talking to me and sucking up to the general, he was sitting there juicing an orange. This was the fancy model of juicer that has a pulp adjuster on it too, so I'm sure Sheridan would have been pleased. He could set the pulp adjuster to hella lotta pulp. That would have made his day.

Yeah...random.

What's Outside my Window

Please forgive me for not knowing how to use this camera (it's the one from work) and not knowing how to make it focus manually. But I just had to share this. I've never seen such a big praying mantis so up close and personal. Scale is difficult to discern from this photo, but it was a little bigger than my hand. Thank God it's on the other side of the window from me. It gives me the jibblies...

I think I'm turning Brittish. I really think so.

I have been reading a lot of books by Brits lately between all the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books and Harry Potter. Add to that the fact that I've been watching Monty Python's Flying Circus and I think I'm a bit of a lost cause... I'm starting to use Brittish slang (at least in my head) and I'm having a hard time resisting speaking with an accent. Brings me back to the days of pit band (yes, pit band, not orchestra--I went to a rather small high school) and My Fair Lady. "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain." I was constantly tempted to speak with an accent during that time as well.

So, anyway, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is one of the best Harry Potter books so far. Can't decide if I like it better than the third one or not. It had everything I'd wanted, some I didn't want, but predicted, and extra surprises to boot. I laughed, I cried, I cursed. And I read it in like two days. Yeah... It's over....wah!!! I want the next one now!!! And from what I've heard, she's already written it too. I won't go into spoilers since I promised this post would be spoiler free, but it is tempting... Okay, I'll spoil one itsy bitsy tiny thing. U-No-Poo. I won't explain. You can just imagine what the hell that's about. The only thing I'll say was that I totally cracked up when it was mentioned.

On a complete sidenote, I have to admit I've gotten addicted to Neopets. It's silly and childish and an awful lot of fun. I have a green Ixi named Stifremin (Jalapanous for "it's fresh and minty) and he is delighted at the moment because I've spoiled him and played with him a lot. He's also full because I just fed him an orange bat cookie for breakfast. Yummy. I'm kinda pissed though because I didn't realize you were stuck with your neohome where it is after you'd signed up for your account and I totally didn't pay any attention to it because I thought it was changeable. So, I've got a neohome in the most boring place of all--not where I wanted to be. Oh well... They say that someday they plan to offer the option of changing your neohome.



Yeah, so I'm easily addicted. Don't look at me like that...

Maybe my pet should be Brittish?

This time I mean it

Discovery has reached orbit. Good luck, and come home safely.

Stay tuned for my spoiler-free commentary on Harry Potter in my next post...

Just kidding

So, the launch of Discovery has been called off for today because of a sensor not functioning properly. No go for launch. Better luck next time.

Return to Flight

The space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to launch at 3:51 p.m. EDT today. You can watch the countdown until liftoff on NASA's website: Return to Flight

It's been two and a half years since the Colombia disaster, and now, finally, NASA's sending another shuttle into space. You can prepare and test and inspect and double check all you want, but nothing is ever 100% safe, especially something as risky as space travel. There are simply too many variables and unknowns. But the astronauts are willing to put their lives on the line in the name of science, so if they are willing to take the risk I say we should let them. There are still so many things in the universe we don't understand, so much territory that has never been explored.

So good luck, Discovery, and come home safely.

Happy Shish Kabob!

My friend, shivaindis said that this comic needed to be made. I have fulfilled my duty and made it. It's brief and brilliant. Well, maybe not brilliant. It's rather stupid, actually. But at least it is brief.

So, recently homestarrunner.com made an amusing toon about the fourth of july called "Happy Fireworks." You might want to view it here before continuing--otherwise you might be kind of lost.

So my friends and I were discussing Final Fantasy VII and character deaths, and how Aeris wouldn't be as popular as she is if she hadn't died since her character is basically a Mary Sue (for non fanfic readers, a Mary Sue is a character who is a little too perfect in every way--there's a bit more to it than that, but that's good enough for now). We even went so far as to say Aeris isn't much more exciting than a piece of cardboard. Then we remembered "Happy Fireworks" and the rest is history. Add to the cardboard thing that it's a common thing in roleplaying games for the main character to never talk though everyone always understands what they "say" and replies to them, and we have a strange scenario.

You can view my mini comic silliness here.

Office Supply Fetish

Is it weird to love office supplies as much as I do? Because I do—love them, that is.

Mom shared a coupon book for Office Depot (or "Office Despot" as my dad is wont to call it) and I found one I thought I could use (a coupon for Sharpies and I had been wanting some of those Sharpie retractables ever since I saw a commercial for them and almost had a heart attack). So, I asked mom if she wanted to go with me to the store (and office supplies aren't normally her thing but I so rarely ask her to go shopping with me that she couldn't refuse).

I was in heaven. I purposely avoid office supply stores because I know they are my weakness (trips to get design projects bound back in school were often more fun than they should have been because I would wander aimlessly around the store finding cute office supplies I couldn't refuse). But, I think the time away from such stores makes my excitement even worse when I actually do shop at them.

So, I got giddy... Over these cool notebooks with elastic to keep them shut (which come in charming "choco-latte" color schemes, btw), a soft Five Star pencil bag that's made to stand up with see-through mesh on the bottom half, and mini Sharpies in a variety of colors. I decided the retractables were not the best idea since they would dry out more quickly and they were also far larger than they needed to be--and the mini Sharpies were just too friggin' cute!!! They even come with hooks at the top so you can put them on your keychain. Is that not the cutest thing ever? Now I can label my burned cds in a variety of beautiful colors.

I can't explain why I get so excited about office supplies. It seems almost wrong somehow. Yet, I can't help it. I just feel so organized and nerdy cool when I've got fresh notebooks, pens, mechanical pencils and organization tools. (But why, oh why can't I find those neat little circular paper clips? They're so much cooler than regular paper clips). Maybe it's because shopping for such things brings me back to the days of "back to school" time when finding your cool folders and notebooks (and trapper keepers) for the next year was so important. Maybe it just seemed more important at my school because we wore uniforms--but no, I think I've always been obssessed with it just because.

Honestly, I think office supplies are one of my favorite things in the universe. The satisfaction one gets from writing with a really good pen that just seems to glide over the paper like butter, or, likewise, of writing on really good paper that just feels rich and textured. The joy one feels in looking at a freshly organized desk with all the papers, pens and pencils, paperclips, postits, etc, each in their own little nook within various organizational shelves and drawers. Ah, it's enough to make me say "ah" again.

So, in conclusion: Office Supplies. Try them. You'll like them. And so will your desk.