Oh my gosh you guys, so many little cookies in my profile! :D Thanks for thinking of me, it made me smile. ♥

Just got back from Ninja Assassin with maurheti and graymary. OH GOD EVERYTHING I WANTED. I could be convinced towards you, Rain, I really could. And Joon was adorable even shaved. And the violence was pretty much HILARIOUS. And it had Randall Duk Kim and the kid who was baby Jaejoong in the Balloons MV and that line in my topic is actually from the movie, you guys. Thank you, movie, for making my evening.

Heading into another seven day work week starting tomorrow. GOD LET ME SURVIVE THIS.

My luck with my personal computers: This has been going on for about a week. It's not even consistent, either -- sometimes things go fine for a day or two, and then I come back to find my computer screaming about how it had to stop everything and you better reboot now, and most of the time when it's on everything is pixelated at random or gets bizarre pixel bars over images, and my mouse is followed around by a strange, inch long pink bar of grainy interference, like a shitty version of one of those old fanmade cursors I used to install everywhere. The drivers have already all been wiped and reinstalled, but maybe some stuff got missed. I don't even know. This thing is a few years old and still running XP. I hate computers.

So this post isn't all whining: bunnymcfoo is doing a cool charity project for the holidays -- warm clothes and underwear for homeless kids! Check it out over here.

More daily news shows hijinks: "HE IS NO LONGER A TIGER, BUT A SIMPLE ALLEY CAT." The cleverness of that line makes me WEAK IN THE KNEES.

Today's agenda: stay awake until one, Friday coffee date with maurheti, get Em from work, go home and clean or end up somewhere completely unexpected, eventually open up the T5H file and redo this one part, maybe finish my book, get some doll stuff done (newbies?! in my doll collection?!), sleeeeep. This weekend: NOTHING OH GOD THANK YOU unless there ends up being plans with friends.

I want to see Ninja Assassin for a lot of different reasons. I'm not really a tremendous Rain fan but it's like, gotta represent, or something. And the hot one from MBLAQ is in it, and the littlest Jaejoong, and also things are going to blow up and maybe also die. It doesn't take much to please me when it comes to movies, really.

I feel like FOX News is taking this leaked scientists emails thing and rolling around in it the way dogs roll in dead things. You guys, it only smells good and interesting to you and your kind, okay? It just makes the rest of us not want to be around you.

The ethnic groups of China in traditional clothing. Suju fans, keep an eye out for the Hezhen near the end -- it's the proper word for Nanai, which is the group Han Geng comes from.

I am not sleeping at night due to like... mucus, or something, so I keep coming home from work and crashing unconscious to the bed. I would like the weekend now.

Things That Are Only Funny To Us Theater:

"I feel like whenever Heechul talks about either of them he just screams their names in the middle of the sentence because he's still mad about it."
"'Yeah, did you see my solo this time? It had HENRY!!!!!! and Ryeowook.'"
"'Uh, yeah...'"
"'Now I'm going over here to talk to ZHOU MI!!!!!!!'"

"Well god knows if anyone were going to get some kind of throat parasite, it'd be Yunho. Because there was that time with the spores, or whatever the hell that was."
"There was that time Gremio got the spores..."
"...This isn't like that time."
"Jaejoong recruited all the 108 Sujus, though."
"..."

I seriously just looked up at the tv to see Bill O'Reiley saying something along the lines of "SHOULDN'T THAT BE CALLED GLOBAL COLDING? JUST ASKING!!!" Why can't I kill people with my mind yet?

I am... pretty much asleep, today! Tuesdays are always the worst days of the week for me, tiredness-wise. Monday I'm fine, Thursday I'm fine, but Tuesday, no matter how much sleep I've gotten, I am dead on my feet. Which is annoying, because it's the day I work alone, more or less.

OMG THE ONE TRUE PAIRING OF HANCHUL IS wait that's Siwon making out with Hangeng's face NEVERMIND. Not that I'm smug, or anything. Maybe a little bit. Okay, maybe a lot, but you can't really blame me when stuff like that is going on at Super Show and all fans can talk about/take pictures of is "OMG HEECHUL AND HANGENG KIND OF LOOKED AT EACH OTHER IT'S LOVE!!!!" It's okay, Heechums. Once your fat jerk boyfriend gets back on stage you won't have to get snuggles from those two obnoxious lovebirds anymore.

Seriously. So asleep. Apparently going to the mountains for Christmas also. And to prove my point about my tiredness, I first wrote "Thanksgiving" instead of Christmas. Champion.

EDIT: I need a better answer to the "what prompted you to study Korean?" question other than "so I can eventually make my way to Seoul, find the Sukira radio station, and stand outside that big glass window, my hand pressed to the glass, staring intently and unsmilingly at Lee Hyukjae until he has a nervous breakdown."

So awesome. Jim C. Hines, whose book The Stepsister Scheme I picked up on a total whim and ended up really loving, has this page linked on his website nav bar. His LJ (jimhines) has even more. One of the many reasons I enjoyed his book (aside from it being a fun light fantasy adventure* that stars more or less exclusively women) was his treatment of this subject, light though the brush with it was. (Spoiler territory there, but.) I had no idea he'd written so prolifically and so eloquently on the topic, nor that he understands in doing so that it's distressing that he's one of so few male voices talking about it. I love that. And, like him, I hate that I have to be so excited about it for its rarity.

*It is light fantasy, definitely. It's more adventurous romp than plodding world building, which is fine with me. He describes it this way himself. Despite it BEING light and fun, it still manages to contain numerous very honest female voices, deal with the issues of rape, avoid complete heteronormality, and do a bit of chatting about gender equality, while still allowing some women to be giggly and flirty and others to be completely uninterested in your bullshit. Seriously. Very pleased.

I just installed and applied killfile to livejournal for the first time solely so that I'd never have to see comments from this one person on omona ever again. Because seriously. The sheer lack of awareness coupled with bullheaded stubborn negativity and vicious disinformation isn't something that any sane person needs to be seeing on an almost daily basis. I mean, most of the commenters on the DBSK posts are operating with general unawareness of business politics and/or Korean social whatever the hell? But they at least aren't trying to be an authority/great champion of the company. And they aren't replying to EVERY SINGLE COMMENT ON THE TOPIC, EITHER. Some people need a serious life. And an education! And everybody needs to relax in general.

We wrote until like one am last night! These are a shitload of words and it's only kind of the first bit. We are awesome! And awesome people get Chinese food for lunch. That's what I think.

Today was my 90 day review at work, and to summarize: They love me, the members love me, I do more or less everything right, That One Coworker needs to shut up and stop being a tattletale (MANAGER'S WORD) and I'm awesome.

I will celebrate this event by OH MY GOD WHAT ARE WE NOW, WOODLAND SPRITES?!

Recent pics of Viran, my modded MNF Chiwoo. He's the tiny redhead, you know!

( Tiny spooky eyes. )

Something terrible was in Em's bed the other day.

( Oh, really? )

LOL, me. "Hey guys I'm totally here and awake and responsive and everything!" And then I go to sleep for like four days. The problem with me is that I am constantly lurking and reading around LJ when I'm tired, but I never post, because that requires mental energy better expended on prose. Which I've been doing! Sticking people in elevators and doing Misery South Korea style! (I should note that, with DBSK Banjun Drama "Dangerous Love", South Korea beat me to it already. Oh well.) So here's stuff I've been up to:

Yesterday I had work adventures! A member came in and said, "There's a cat outside. It followed me to the door crying." I'd seen a stray around the building before, so I went outside to have a look and sure enough, young female white-and-tabby splotched kitty, crying with hunger and probably heat. Her ribs were evident when you touched her and she had very well fed ticks all over her poor tiny body. So, me being me, I of course abandoned the desk and sat with her in my lap outside the door while I waited for a member to fetch the old small animal carrier they had around the house. With only about half an hour left in my shift, I ended up just stuffing the carrier in the backseat of the car, and when work was done I drove her down to a local cat sanctuary. Where they cooed over her sweetness and promptly named her Laura* to thank me for caring. (The member she'd been following sent me off with a sizeable cash donation (!!!!) to the shelter because he felt like she'd asked him personally for help. AW.)

Sunday was hanging out with maurheti day. It involved much shriek-flailing, cookies, and accidental hibachi lunch. A++ would play again.

The other day when me and graymary went to our favorite Korean place again the owner ran out from behind the bar, crept up behind me when I wasn't paying attention, seized me by the elbow (I'm about 5'5, and she comes up to my shoulder) and pulled me into a bear hug. Then she held on to my arm and DRAGGED ME TOWARDS THE TABLE chattering happily about how good it was to see us. Em didn't even notice I was being lovingly assaulted until it was too late. I am so calling that lady Unni** next time I see her. I BELIEVE THE SOCIAL PROTOCOLS ARE ALIGNED FOR THIS.

My right eyelid has been twitching uncontrollably for about a week and a half. Mostly I'm complaining about it and using it to freak out Em and Favorite Massage Therapist.

Last night I bathed Maximum Stench; Kitten Detective because, I mean, okay, draw your own conclusions, his fake surname is "Stench." By this I mean I dragged him into a shower and gave him a good scrubbing, because he does not understand that Litterbox =/= playground. He was very sad about the entire affair, as you'd expect, but with more fight about him than Ozzy had when it was his turn.*** When it was done and I'd scrubbed him dry a bit he waddled away and looked around and then waddled back, clearly extremely concerned that whoever or whatever had caused him to get this wet was going to get me, too. He spent the next hour alternating between furious licking and checking on me to make sure I was still dry and okay. I'm torn between "awwww, baby Maxi" and "WHY ARE YOU STUPID, LITTLE THUMBS?"

And finally, there is not a broad difference, narratively, between Chekov's Gun and Chekov's Fangirl. Well okay, actually both scenarios are technically Chekov's Gun, but it's sort of... the gun is on the fangirl instead of on the mantle. YOU GUYS I AM REALLY SLEEPY, OKAY.

*Despite calling me that as much as all of you do, my parents did not, in fact, name me "Shoi".

**"Big Sister." You (if you're female) use it at other women/girls who're older than you but not MUCH older than you. Generally considered sort of adorable to use it at a woman who's twenty years or so older than you and would normally earn the title of ajumma.

***Ozzy's reaction was to sit dead still, giving me the biggest, most betrayed eyes in the world, with a general cat expression of, "You should know better. Why would you do this to me? Why? I thought we were friiiiends." Yeah, buddy, but you had a flea, and you're allergic. Suck it up.

You guys. At omonatheydidnt. The reason why these huge corporations feel like they can act like they own the world or lie blatantly to our faces is because when they spin things at you, you believe them, or you at least try to give them a fair chance, unstead of pretty much believing what a couple of guys with little to gain and everything to lose are telling you outright. Seriously. Have you people never seen a label/artist dispute before? The label will do anythng and everything it can to smear the artist who is pretty much just there trying to get paid for what they're doing. And that's all these guys are doing. And also, if all five have them had sued at once, it would have been a lot worse, because that would've made it easy for SM to just cut them all loose at once. Divided as they are is one of the reasons the company hasn't just dropped the hammer by now. Seriously, you people. Seriously. Trust me on this. Trust the artists. The label is never right, is never the good guy, and is never, ever, ever the wronged party, in any way. EVER. Jesus. I'm not even annoyed from a "I like DBSK" standpoint, I'm annoyed from a "I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU PEOPLE ARE SO OBTUSE ABOUT THIS AND THE CAUSES AND WHY WHAT'S BEING SAID BY THE COMPANY IS BULLSHIT" standpoint. Ugh. Please grow brains or at least put your obsessive love for Jaejoong's... Jaejoong to good use.

Anyway, um! I made a couple of posts the other day and totally disappeared and haven't replied to any number of awesome comments. See the day I made my posts I was tired and kind of strung out, so I thought I'd take a break and get to them tomorrow, which was yesterday. Well! Yesterday on the way home from work, the check engine light on graymary's car came on! While I was still half an hour from home! So that was fine. Then we spent several hours at Sears getting that taken care of (Cracked belt plus transmission flush) and ran a bunch of errands in between and finally got back around six, at which time I suggested a nap for both of us. (Em has some kind of sick thing.) So we napped for about an hour, then I woke up at sevenish, went into Em's room and said, "Let's just go to bed. Right now."

So we did. At 7:30 PM. So I've had about ten hours of sleep. I feel amazing. This was the best idea ever. But, uh, yeah, that's why I seem to be ignoring people. I've been asleep. For ten hours. Oops?

Tried a new restaurant this evening. It touted itself as Japanese AND Korean food! With my palate you cannot go wrong anywhere there. Turned out to be Korean owned and operated, which we found out with some investigation into the wall hangings and upon ordering from the Korean menu and being congratulated on making good choices by our waitress. (She liked that I asked for hwedupbap! I'd never even had it before! And it was awesome!) And then behind us were the most amazing people, who insisted on asking our completely American-accented waitress "where she was from" ("Um, I'm Korean, but I was born here in the states, so...") and then told her that her name didn't "sound very Korean" and insisted that she tell them her "real Korean name" and it was all pretty mortifying/enraging. "You're extremely patient," I told her quietly when she came back to our table, and she smiled the smile of death and muttered, "I have to be," before she freshened up my water. On the other hand, we found a good place to eat -- the owner makes his own gochujang, and it is delicious.

So this is my current doll-lust? She's basically perfect for someone on my "I want" list, and since Elfdoll is being stupid recently (and they're the ones who do, like, half of the other people I want) I am totally setting my sights on her. OH TIFFANY I WILL HAVE YOU

I'm sort of annoyed that 2PM is doing a comeback in the middle of all their drama, because I feel like they're going to start sweeping the shows and awards just because everyone is wanking about them lately, whether their song and performance are good or not, and I'm enjoying SHINee's winning streak and would also kind of like to see SS501 get a chance at things too, but hey. Who knows, maybe Hottest's incredibly stupid and hurtful boycotts will put a stop to it. I don't think I like that option, either. Whatever, JYP, you are inconvenient to me and my neeeeeds.

I've been at work so much this week members are asking me if I sleep there. "Yes," I say. "I have a little bedroll under my desk." I'm beginning to wonder if I should actually make that true.

Onew has swine flu! I'm only worried because it's Onew, and he pretty much makes an international incident out of every tiny thing that happens to him ever. Hey Jinki, don't Jinki* this up and die! I won't ever be able to get the proper measurements for the rabbit hutch I'm going to build for you to live in if you do! Because I am. And then you'll be mine. :) Forever. :) :) :) Ahem.

Stuck at work this weekend woooooo. I get to go home in two hours, though. Then it may or may not be champong night depending on how lazy we are! (God I love that word. It's such a victim of the "no standardized romanization for Korean words" issue. Jjambong, chambong, jampong, THEY'RE ALL THE SAME.)

Can I tell you something, you guys? My kitten is an amazing creature. His "zooming around the house" noise is this weird electronic/dinosaurish PBBBHHHHHT sound, his eyes are crossed, he has FOUR THUMBS and a little white tail tip, and he sleeps at the foot of my bed like every night, wags his tail when he's excited and is learning to play fetch. My life is so enriched and so is Ozzy's. the_wanlorn is amazing for forcing him on me. :')

*Jinki is Onew's real name. I know in that context it sounds like a terrible slur or something, but mostly I just yell it across the apartment at Em when I hear her crashing around. "ARE YOU JINKI-ING AROUND IN THERE? STOP IT WHO WILL PAY THE RENT"

I'd forgotten somehow what an incredible experience Snake Eater is. It really can't be experienced as a movie or just in FMVs; it has to be gameplay and radio conversations and all the random insanity and heartbreak and fourth wall breakage you dig up in the process. It has to be you and a handful of friends on the very edge of the couch while you fire that final Patriot shot and while Eva's voice cracks in the voiceover at the end. Otherwise it's just not worth it. Really, this is why every long term writing project I've ever worked on is connected to the Metal Gear world. It just is that incredible. (And don't worry, we haven't forgotten about posting about the amazing pop stars spy epic. It's in progress! :))

to_the_wick and selasphorus are gone now! I have to admit I was a little weepy finally saying goodbye to selasphorus because we'd already SAID goodbye to Wicky and now I had to do it again and they were both amazing guests, you guys. I don't think we've ever had house guests so well behaved, or so easy to accommodate. They cleaned my kitchen randomly when I was at work! They cooked dinner TWICE. They put gas in Em's car. SERIOUSLY. BEST GUESTS EVER.

This week's going to be kind of rough since I'm working the weekend and tomorrow I have to spend FOURTEEN HOURS at Job Location due to there being a meeting at six PM when I get off at noon. (It's just not worth driving back an hour one way only to have to double back and do it all over again. Also I cannot afford the gas, lol.) maurheti will save me!

graymary smells and is a smelly person. FYI.

I have guests!

I've had three hours of sleep!

I'm at work!

This is likely to be the theme until sometime next week.

Also, graymary and I got a little centralized domain for our various other domains/projects/etc. Here is the hold page I made for it. ...It's a cat from space. That's why it has antenna. And tiny stick legs. And stuff.*

*Me, screaming at Em: "IT'S GOT A THEME! HE WONDERED WHAT THE FUSS WAS ABOUT, SEE, SO HE'S WANDERED UP TO LOOK AT IT! AND HE IS CURIOUS!"
Em: "...Go to bed."
selasphorus: "Go to bed."
to_the_wick: "*CLEARLY WANTS TO GO HOME*"

Amnesiac girl under eighteen in NYC sounds like an outright fangirl to me. Weird. I wish they'd say what the name was. Because, I mean, if it was like, "Raito" I guess we'd figure out where to look.

selasphorus and to_the_wick are coming to visit for a week! I haven't cleaned a thing. Don't get me wrong, I will! But right now idly refreshing the internet and making story notes in notepad is more important.

It's lazy Saturday so it's clearly cute videos day.

( Links forever. )

Now I'm going to go figure out dinner.

Some of my user interests, explained.

dean versus the mayans
This one time me and oninobara went to see Apocalypto or whatever the hell, that awful Mel Gibon movie. There was one point where there were a shitload of Mayan warriors standing around, and she turned to me and said, "What would happen if Dean Winchester showed up right now?" in tones of 'he'd be a total badass, right?' I, knowing better, replied, "....He'd die." The end.

kyuhyun's super rock baby christmas
Somehow, I don't know how, or why, or who, but whatever, SOMEHOW audio of Cho Kyuhyun age eight got onto the internet. By some grace of God, it found a bizarre Casio rock and roll backbeat, and became this amazing youtube video. and he is singing Christmas Carols in church, you guys, and screaming at the top of his lungs. I'm no longer surprised about that twice-collapsed lung, is all I'm saying. I'd link you, but I have no idea where it even is anymore or how I even found it in the first place.

no one's named smith
In graymary and I's 2008 summer writing project Last One Standing (WE TOTALLY FINISHED IT TOO part one at least) super suave asshole assassin Kayin assumed the name Eric Smith for the duration of an assignment. "No one's actually bloody named Smith" became something of an endless refrain thereafter, much to his consternation. The joke is that one of us is actually named that.

proper belt application
seriously diz what is that

how beatle hotel screaming
In my dreams one day Super Junior decides that the only person who can help them solve the issue of hundreds of sobbing high school girls mobbing around their living quarters is Paul McCartney. Unfortunately the one who decides this is Donghae, and this is what he yells down the phone until Sir Macca, now confused and somewhat annoyed, hangs up.

Only to be called back, again and again.

Forever.

useless russian boys
his name is ivan raikov and he hates you too and he's instructed lee to cut off your funding forever jack now what will you do american dog

I was so terrifyingly cheery at work this morning that my favorite Massage Therapist turned around after I was done with a customer and muttered, "You are on today!" in tones of "holy shit girlfriend did you hit your head somewhere back there?" and various members asked me if they paid me extra to be so cheerful so early in the morning. "No!" I invariably replied, beaming, "I'm just like this naturally!" which is only sort of a lie.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go lie down.

I have got to stop doing that thing where I'm in the middle of an email conversation and then I fall dead asleep. The Sunday-Tuesday stretch is a really exhausting one for whatever reason.

f(x) hanging out with baby band SHINee backstage at dream concert! The Jung sisters are cute at the beginning (though I'm still weirded out by their differently reported levels of closeness) but the real greatness comes after that, when Key and Amber engage the camera in a long ramble in English together that reveals that, apparently, Amber is a "he" and that Key has a cold, and he is "so freakin' tired", and he is hot, because he's "hot". I'm not sure but at this point I'd say his English is at least on the level with Yoochun's. SM's English speaking brigade pleases me so much. Every band has one! Sometimes they have showdowns! (KEY THINKS HE HAS ALREADY INTRODUCED HIMSELF, JAY. Actually this is also worth watching just for Jay telling Jungmo to stop being such a picky bitch and to stick with guitar. lolol married)

I have this really annoying employee orientation to go to later today that ends at eight pm, which is exciting, because my schedule gives me like two hours of time to then get home (one hour) and get ready for bed. I'm oriented already, work! I don't need more orienting! Also I don't want to be out in the middle of nowhere at that hour. :( My life is hard.