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tarigwaemirBlair Hall Apts., on the Feast of St. Celestine
Sorry for the radio silence...I've gone nearly two weeks without posting, which has never happened before without an advance hiatus declaration. I have been keeping up with the friends list, although I've been commenting less than usual. I've been feeling remarkably unmotivated about writing anything lately, whether it be emails or blog posts or fic, and I think it's because I'm in that sort of glum mood where you're not actually depressed enough to feel miserable and hence need an outlet of expression to cheer up, but also not upbeat enough to be bursting with things to say. Mostly, I'm just worried about the upcoming move, and of course, the atmosphere in the house isn't helping. Also, it's strange being at home these days, since I'm only ever here while in the midst of some transitory stage, and so it feels I've been in transition for nearly a month and a half now. It's...irritating.
Anyway, my answers to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fable's questions from the HI LET ME GET TO KNOW YOU meme (yes, that was weeks ago):
1. What do you consider your greatest accomplishments?
At the moment, being second author on this paper, which just came out and contains the bulk of my thesis research. Or rather, I should say, I'm not so much proud of the paper itself (which was mostly written, after all, by the post-doc I worked with) or even my thesis (which was, sad to say, not just my main but probably my only real academic achievement in college), but the three and a half years I spent working in the lab.
2. I'm really curious about kendo - what made you pick it up, what made to stay with it, how long have you been doing it, what do you like the most about it?
I saw a poster advertising for kendo at the beginning of freshman year in college, and because I'd wanted to learn a martial art, I decided to check it out. Why kendo instead of taekwondo or hapkido or any of the other many martial arts clubs on campus? I guess because I found it less intimidating since most people entered the club as complete beginners (as opposed to already having a black belt, for example). It also helped that people were generally very nice and tolerant of my complete physical ineptitude. (I've always been rather weak and uncoordinated: the type of kid that gets taken aside by the gym teacher in class to practice basic drills separately from everyone else.) In kendo, it didn't really matter so much if I sucked, as long as I persevered and kept on trying. It also turned out to be the one club where I really managed to connect with people (unlike all the other extracurriculars I joined that year and subsequently quit).
What I like about kendo...well, where to start? I like the whole philosophy of commitment that goes into it: the idea that you can't hesitate after deciding to attack, the belief that winning is only possible when you've stopped being afraid to "die", the simple fact that kendo is a lifelong discipline (with the true masters being little 80-year old men who can still beat the young whippersnappers while barely seeming to move). I like the way it forces me to keep good posture. I like how the act of concentrating on movement empties your mind and helps you relax. And of course, I like the stress relief that comes from screaming and hitting people on the head. ^_^
3. Fandom history, please. XD
I used to post on Tolkien fan forums in sixth grade, but I suppose my real introduction to fandom came in eighth grade, when I mettryogeru and lush_rimbaud, who liked to read Vampire Chronicles slash fic. I never quite got into Anne Rice myself, but I did end up following them through Velvet Goldmine and other slash fandoms. I didn't start actively reading fanfiction on my own until Tryogeru asked me one summer to check and save her email for her while she was on vacation in China. It was back in pre-Gmail days, when inboxes were limited to about 25 MB. Since she had just introduced me to the Gundam Wing anime and was subscribed to the major Gundam Wing fanfiction mailing list (does everyone remember gw-fan?), I ended up spending a significant portion of that summer reading reams of GW fanfic while ostensibly making sure that Tryogeru's email account wouldn't close on her while she was away.
Anyway, after that, I started watching more anime (usually courtesy ofangelyrique, who was in a fansubbing group at the time) and reading more fanfic. I think the next major anime fandoms for me was Weiß Kreuz and, haha, Card Captor Sakura. (Most people are embarrassed about liking slash/yaoi, but thanks to my social circle at the time, I was always a little ashamed to admit I liked shoujo and het. >_>) I joined LiveJournal in summer 2002...in fact, the fifth anniversary of this journal is tomorrow! tryogeru introduced me to Hikaru no Go a few months afterwards, and that's remained my main and all-enduring fandom.
What's a little ironic is that I probably would never have started watching anime or manga were it not for my best friends in high school, but almost all of them have moved on from animanga fandom since then. If I had been left to my own devices, I would probably have stayed firmly entrenched in SF/F.
4. Name three books that've had the greatest impact on your life.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, because I spent the greater part of my childhood trying to be like Anne and being horribly disappointed that I didn't find a bosom friend like Diana and that we didn't read Tennyson in school.
Demian by Hermann Hesse, because I read it in seventh grade, when I had a very pedestrian and somewhat conservative worldview, which was turned completely upside down by the book.
...It's easy to come up with the first two, but there are too many candidates for the third.
5. What would be a perfect day for you?
Waking up early, going to the library and coming across a serendipitous find, spending the rest of the day reading in a comfortable armchair, returning home to a hot meal.
1. Leave me a comment saying anything random, like your favorite lyric to your current favorite song. Or your favorite kind of sandwich. Something random. Whatever you like.
2. I respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better.
3. You will update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and offer to ask someone else in the post.
5. When others comment asking to be asked, you will ask them five questions.
Yours &c.
Sorry for the radio silence...I've gone nearly two weeks without posting, which has never happened before without an advance hiatus declaration. I have been keeping up with the friends list, although I've been commenting less than usual. I've been feeling remarkably unmotivated about writing anything lately, whether it be emails or blog posts or fic, and I think it's because I'm in that sort of glum mood where you're not actually depressed enough to feel miserable and hence need an outlet of expression to cheer up, but also not upbeat enough to be bursting with things to say. Mostly, I'm just worried about the upcoming move, and of course, the atmosphere in the house isn't helping. Also, it's strange being at home these days, since I'm only ever here while in the midst of some transitory stage, and so it feels I've been in transition for nearly a month and a half now. It's...irritating.
Anyway, my answers to
fable's questions from the HI LET ME GET TO KNOW YOU meme (yes, that was weeks ago): 1. What do you consider your greatest accomplishments?
At the moment, being second author on this paper, which just came out and contains the bulk of my thesis research. Or rather, I should say, I'm not so much proud of the paper itself (which was mostly written, after all, by the post-doc I worked with) or even my thesis (which was, sad to say, not just my main but probably my only real academic achievement in college), but the three and a half years I spent working in the lab.
2. I'm really curious about kendo - what made you pick it up, what made to stay with it, how long have you been doing it, what do you like the most about it?
I saw a poster advertising for kendo at the beginning of freshman year in college, and because I'd wanted to learn a martial art, I decided to check it out. Why kendo instead of taekwondo or hapkido or any of the other many martial arts clubs on campus? I guess because I found it less intimidating since most people entered the club as complete beginners (as opposed to already having a black belt, for example). It also helped that people were generally very nice and tolerant of my complete physical ineptitude. (I've always been rather weak and uncoordinated: the type of kid that gets taken aside by the gym teacher in class to practice basic drills separately from everyone else.) In kendo, it didn't really matter so much if I sucked, as long as I persevered and kept on trying. It also turned out to be the one club where I really managed to connect with people (unlike all the other extracurriculars I joined that year and subsequently quit).
What I like about kendo...well, where to start? I like the whole philosophy of commitment that goes into it: the idea that you can't hesitate after deciding to attack, the belief that winning is only possible when you've stopped being afraid to "die", the simple fact that kendo is a lifelong discipline (with the true masters being little 80-year old men who can still beat the young whippersnappers while barely seeming to move). I like the way it forces me to keep good posture. I like how the act of concentrating on movement empties your mind and helps you relax. And of course, I like the stress relief that comes from screaming and hitting people on the head. ^_^
3. Fandom history, please. XD
I used to post on Tolkien fan forums in sixth grade, but I suppose my real introduction to fandom came in eighth grade, when I met
tryogeru and lush_rimbaud, who liked to read Vampire Chronicles slash fic. I never quite got into Anne Rice myself, but I did end up following them through Velvet Goldmine and other slash fandoms. I didn't start actively reading fanfiction on my own until Tryogeru asked me one summer to check and save her email for her while she was on vacation in China. It was back in pre-Gmail days, when inboxes were limited to about 25 MB. Since she had just introduced me to the Gundam Wing anime and was subscribed to the major Gundam Wing fanfiction mailing list (does everyone remember gw-fan?), I ended up spending a significant portion of that summer reading reams of GW fanfic while ostensibly making sure that Tryogeru's email account wouldn't close on her while she was away.Anyway, after that, I started watching more anime (usually courtesy of
angelyrique, who was in a fansubbing group at the time) and reading more fanfic. I think the next major anime fandoms for me was Weiß Kreuz and, haha, Card Captor Sakura. (Most people are embarrassed about liking slash/yaoi, but thanks to my social circle at the time, I was always a little ashamed to admit I liked shoujo and het. >_>) I joined LiveJournal in summer 2002...in fact, the fifth anniversary of this journal is tomorrow! tryogeru introduced me to Hikaru no Go a few months afterwards, and that's remained my main and all-enduring fandom.What's a little ironic is that I probably would never have started watching anime or manga were it not for my best friends in high school, but almost all of them have moved on from animanga fandom since then. If I had been left to my own devices, I would probably have stayed firmly entrenched in SF/F.
4. Name three books that've had the greatest impact on your life.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, because I spent the greater part of my childhood trying to be like Anne and being horribly disappointed that I didn't find a bosom friend like Diana and that we didn't read Tennyson in school.
Demian by Hermann Hesse, because I read it in seventh grade, when I had a very pedestrian and somewhat conservative worldview, which was turned completely upside down by the book.
...It's easy to come up with the first two, but there are too many candidates for the third.
5. What would be a perfect day for you?
Waking up early, going to the library and coming across a serendipitous find, spending the rest of the day reading in a comfortable armchair, returning home to a hot meal.
1. Leave me a comment saying anything random, like your favorite lyric to your current favorite song. Or your favorite kind of sandwich. Something random. Whatever you like.
2. I respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better.
3. You will update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and offer to ask someone else in the post.
5. When others comment asking to be asked, you will ask them five questions.
Yours &c.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-27 09:56 pm (UTC)(You don't have to ask questions if you don't want. I'm quite boring and just wanted to say something random. <_<)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-27 10:31 pm (UTC)Questions:
1. Brief outline of the post-DH fic you would like to read most!
2. In your fandoms, do you tend to 'ship a single OTP or many, many pairings at once? Or does it depend on the fandom?
3. What's your favorite Hikaru no Go crack pairing? XD
4. Favorite Photoshop filter?
5. Dream computer configuration? Alternatively, dream geeky technological device of your choosing.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-27 10:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-30 02:12 am (UTC)2. Same question I asked
3. How did you enter online fandom? What was the first fandom you ever wrote fic for?
4. What fandom do you think will be on your
5. This might be a bit personal, so feel free to not answer if you don't want to, but how did you first meet Luke and Felix?
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-28 10:54 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-30 02:16 am (UTC)2. Do you prefer writing longhand or typing, and why?
3. Favorite Hikaru no Go crack pairing!
4. What was the first anime you ever watched?
5. Strangest adventure you've had in Japan so far?
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-30 07:51 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-28 06:11 pm (UTC)Surrounded by an evil plot, the hero was incredibly strong,
He was holding onto his hope until the very end....
But in the shadow of all this, lots of people died.
And I was just watching.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-30 02:19 am (UTC)2. Would you rather be a Buddhist or a Taoist, and why?
3. What made you decide to switch from linguistics to East Asian studies?
4. If you were to take a road trip through Japan, where would you go?
5. Favorite Japanese poem?
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-29 04:42 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-30 02:25 am (UTC)1. Tony Blair, Stephen Colbert, John Cleese. Who would you marry, shag, throw off a cliff?
2. The Doctor Who fic that you would like to read but haven't seen written yet.
3. Favorite "next generation" HP pairing?
4. Favorite species of bacteria?
5. Where and when would you travel to, if you had control of the TARDIS?
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-30 03:26 am (UTC)I'm going to have to agree with you there, marry Cleese, shag Colbert, and cliff Blair. Poor Tony, he's not getting enough luv these days. I'd shag him before I cliff him though.
2. The Doctor Who fic that you would like to read but haven't seen written yet.
Something satisfactorily explaining Turlough's past, as well as why Fifth Doctor put up with him, though I suspect it's because they both are exiles from their people and technically "lost" their families and consider the TARDIS crew their family.
3. Favorite "next generation" HP pairing?
Next generation..hm...I'd have to go with Hermione and Ron. They were just too cute in DH and the movies.
4. Favorite species of bacteria?
Any of the cocci. It's cute when the little balls all linked up like pearls or aggregated in neat geometric shapes. Though I guess it's not that cute when your throat closes up or your flesh gets eaten away...
5. Where and when would you travel to, if you had control of the TARDIS?
If I were in control forever, I'd go to all those places in the world I'd always wanted to go, maybe a little earlier than now, when the dollar was worth more. If this was a one time thing...maybe the future, to see what happens and enjoy the new technology (and see if/when they discover warp drive)....or maybe some time before the BBC burned the early episodes of Doctor Who. XD
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-29 09:21 am (UTC)I can fully understand being embarrassed to like Shoujo with some of the stellar examples of the genre.
But a lot of it is so much fun! Or very sweet! And just eeeee. It's nice to read things that have me as a target audience at times. :D
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-30 02:30 am (UTC)Wasn't sure if you wanted questions but...
1. Your fandom history?
2. If you attended Ouran, who would you choose for your host, and why?
3. Favorite shoujo series!
4. The Hikago fic you've always wanted to read but have never seen written.
5. Same question I asked
(no subject)
Date: 2007-08-06 06:53 pm (UTC)#2 you make kendo sound so cool. reading this made me want to try it out myself.
#5 that sounds so peaceful and quietly lovely.