tarigwaemir

Haste Street, on the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas

New lab! My third and last rotation, before I must decide on a thesis lab. I sorted out heterozygotes today by looking for flies with curly wings. After reading so many papers on fly genetics and development, it's kind of neat to be looking at real flies. My last rotation was also in a fly lab, but I only worked with sequence data, not actual organisms. Say what you will about the power of computational biology, but there's nothing quite like real bench work.

I keep having the urge to write up a long self-reflective post, by which I mean, the sort of vaguely neurotic navel-gazing of which Thomas Merton wrote:

The soul that picks and pries at itself in the isolation of its own dull self-analysis arrives at a self-consciousness that is a torment and a disfigurement of our whole personality.

How true. In any case, I'm endeavoring to achieve a healthier state of mind by posting instead about K-dramas. ^_^

Specifically, Sharp Blade Hong Gildong! ( And why you should watch it )

In other news, the reading list for "School Stories" is up at bibliophages. (I didn't realize how long the list was! Next time, I promise to use a LJ-CUT.) I was surprised and delighted to see that Delia Marshall Turner, the author of one of the recommended books, commented on the list and friended the community! (How did she find us?) I haven't read any of her books, although sub_divided's blurb for Nameless Magery makes me want to read it.

Yours &c.

Post-script: Note to self, please remember email hostee for recruitment weekend! (Not to mention conducting four interviews on top of that! By the way, anyone have suggestions for good questions to ask? I've never been an interviewer before.)

Post-post-script: I forgot to add that ramble_corner has a post with photos on Klang Valley bookstores at bookwormhabitat.

Blair Hall Apts., on the Feast of St. Peter Chrysologus

1. After getting a perm a few days ago, my hair is now curly. Or rather, it was curly but now it's settled down into a loose wave. Still, it's a pretty drastic change.

2. Latest issue of imaginarybeasts is out. I was excited to find lazulisong submitted a short piece set in her pirates universe. Also very much enjoyed lacewood's story, narrated by a dry-voiced vampire, as well as this one about weather magic.

3. The K-drama I mentioned before, War of Money, can be watched with subs on Veoh here. Episodes 1-16 are supposed to be one complete plot arc, but let me tell you, the ending is kind of brilliantly infuriating and calls for fic. (I haven't watched the "Bonus Round" episodes yet, but from what I can tell, they don't exactly look like a continuation.) Someone, please watch this drama so I can heckle you for fic have company in my fangirling.

4. Heard from starlighter that mirabellawotr wrote a new part to her amazing AU, And I Am In Arcadia. Posting the link here for those of you like me who don't have her friended so you can go read it before it gets locked.

5. Whoa, I completely didn't expect that many requests. Will try to get through all of them as soon as possible.

6. I really need to remember to update my fic archive before school begins.

starlighter tagged me for this meme:

List seven songs you are into right now, no matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your LiveJournal along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

1. ORANGE RANGE - Ikenai Taiyou (despite my continuing ambivalence towards the Hana Kimi drama)
2. Utada Hikaru - Flavor of Life
3. Arashi - Happiness (do you sense a theme here?)
4. Podington Bear - The Album Leaf
5. Kent - Spökstad
6. Every Single Day - My First Story
7. Loveholic - 바람아 멈추어다오

Yours &c.

Blair Hall Apts., on the Feast of St. Romuald

My old desktop computer went through boot failure a couple of days ago, before I had a chance to transfer files to my new iMac. What a nightmare! I spent the weekend trying to reinstall Windows about a dozen times and reconnecting my two hard drives in different combinations in hopes of trying to fix the problem. I even ended up reformatting my boot drive (which luckily has none of my files). In the end, what it took was changing the hard drive configuration and running chkdsk on both drives before I managed to boot Windows successfully. After two sleepless nights, I was able to access my files again! Yay! Everything is now moved onto my iMac, and all the important files are backed up on DVD. I also had to hunt down all the missing drivers and reinstall programs on the old desktop, which is now the family computer and hooked up to the Internet. Mother is complaining that she can't access any of her old bookmarks, and Father wants me to hurry up and install Microsoft Office. Sheesh.

We've had Internet access, thanks to my father's laptop (which is also on its last legs), but I haven't been checking LJ for the past few days out of sheer exhaustion (although do note that I haven't failed to check my email religiously). Now that I'm going back through my friends list, that may have been an unexpectedly good thing because apparently there's been a bit of a kerfluffle about blind_go? Does it even qualify as a kerfluffle? Actually, I'm kind of bemused because I think it's the first time that something I'm directly involved in has been the subject of one of Charmian's fandom meta posts. ^_^ I'm also not really sure what's going on since Aja's original post is friends-locked, so everything I'm about to say is based on what I've read in a few reaction posts.

I never expected blind_go to get so large, and it's been a pleasant surprise. As a mod, I've had my share of worries about potential wank fodder: the competitive nature of the challenge, the influx of new writers versus old guard, the deadline pressures, etc. We do try our best to reduce such stresses (hence the support threads and the weekly chats), but actually the lack of conflict is mostly due to the maturity of Hikaru no Go fandom as a whole. <3 But let us know if there's anything we can do (as mods, I mean) to make it better.

From what I can tell, one of the allegations in the original post was that the community doesn't usually give rise to fic that the poster wants to read. It's true that via the theme sets, silvermuse89 and I may encourage certain types of fic to be written. I don't think that it's any secret that we like AUs and minor characters, for example. But nothing is binding, and I doubt that our preferences really have all that much effect on what the writers choose to write. What blind_go does seem to do is encourage writers to push themselves and try out things they haven't tried before, and that may mean different sorts of fics may be posted than what writers would write otherwise. But hey, that's part of the challenge too, and I wouldn't change it even if I could. ::shrugs::

Anyway, from comments in issen4's response, there was a good point brought up that perhaps Hikaru no Go could use more fic challenges, which I support 100%. As I've said to zoesque before, silvermuse89 and I will happily coordinate the blind_go schedule with any other challenges, so just let us know if you're thinking of organizing one! ^_^

That reminds me: daisy_chan has been advertising ihikago, which is holding sign-ups for its second round here. Go join! I admit, I never have the patience to actually sit through and listen to an entire podfic, but it's fun to hear what people's voices sound like. ^_^

Also, really late but go read cyberpunk issue of imaginarybeasts! (I really should remember to go and leave comments.) I meant to write for this issue, but despite much patience on lacewood's part, I couldn't make the story finish on time. Oh well, perhaps for a future issue. The next issue's theme is "heat wave" (sign up here).

I have a goodreads profile (thanks to bravecows and lacewood). Friend me if you have one too!

I told everyone that I was going to bum around in New York for the summer, but actually I've found that bumming around is hard work. >_< Bike-riding practice, driving lessons, marathoning both seasons of Hana Yori Dango with angelyrique, watching 쩐의전쟁 (War of Money) and 불량커플 (Bad Couple) online...more on that next time. (War of Money is the hit K-drama of the season. It's based on a manhwa and the perfect choice for those of you who prefer shounen-style plots.)

Yours &c.

Post-script: Thanks so much to everyone who gave me advice re: housing and finding roommates. I was feeling a little hysterical when I wrote that entry, and reading your comments helped me calm down and feel more in control of the situation. I did manage to contact another incoming student who's agreed to room with me, and we're currently looking for apartments.

Lowell House, on the Feast of Ste. Genevieve

I'm back! Here is the monster post that I've been intending to write for the past few weeks at home, while trying to wrest control of the single laptop with a working Internet connection from my parents. (My father is in the habit of following martial arts serials posted on the Korean equivalent of FictionPress.com while my mother is addicted to watching streaming episodes of Korean television programming from KBS and PBC. They've also spent all of winter break lecturing me to cut down on my Internet time, a point that I would be more willing to take to heart if they didn't spend more time online than I do these days. Anyway, that was the reason for the semi-hiatus.)

( 1. Various observations from church )

( 2. Christmas haul )

( 3. Die Zauberflöte )

( 4. Movies watched )

( 5. Drama roundup )

( 6. New Year resolutions )

( 7. Fic-related memes )

In other news, my cold has taken the form of a nasty cough that mostly manifests at night. It's gotten a bit better today though. I hope it goes away soon since I'm back on campus and need to study. >_<

twelve, I found your card waiting for me in my mailbox today! (Your handwriting is so beautiful! *_*) Thank you so much!

A belated happy New Year to everyone!

Yours &c.

Lowell House, on the Feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch

I decided on Friday that I was going to cheer up (or else!) and events have more or less conspired to make me feel better. Kendo social on Friday, ostensibly to introduce ourselves to the new members, although it devolved into veterans lounging around and watching TV shows, while telling the three new members who showed up all the usual stories. Isn't it odd how you hear the same anecdotes over and over for the millionth time and yet you still laugh as hard as you did for the first? As if anticipation adds spice to the joke, even when the novelty has cooled. Then on Saturday, my roommates and I decided to marathon the first season of Spongebob Squarepants and spent the evening laughing over the silliness. And then on Sunday, I watched the first three episodes of Ugly Betty, to which schwimmerin and I are now firmly addicted.

( And then the emo )

Enough of my whining. Change of topic! Everything that I intended to post more than a week ago before I got derailed:

1. ( Legend of Condor Heroes (2003) )

2. ( Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, part 2 )

Oh, I downloaded the LJ Talk client. (Ack, cynic_in_charge, sorry for not replying to your message; I was off in class and you were already gone when I got back.) I'm also on Gtalk fairly often as well. I'm, um, notoriously bad at initiating realtime conversations, and it takes me a while to stop sounding like a robot. But if you don't mind these drawbacks, please feel free to message me!

Yours &c.

Blair Hall Apts., on the Feast of St. Augustine of Canterbury

I've been vegetating at home since Wednesday, where despite my parents' fears, we did manage to cram all my belongings into the car. I don't understand why even though I bring less and less to school every year we always have this problem of trying to get everything to fit in the car. I mean, we didn't even have to try to fit my bogu bag in the trunk this time around. I think this year's moveout takes the cake for the amount of stress and personal hysteria on my part, although I didn't have to pack all that much. -_-

How I've spent my time:
1. Unpacking and repacking for my eventual return to Cambridge on June 5.
2. Sleeping and eating.
3. Listening to opera with my mother. She was delighted by the CDs I bought for her birthday and decided to wait to listen to them until I was back. So we spent Thursday afternoon listening to Lucia di Lammermoor and Tosca. My mother raved about di Stefano's voice (if you recall, he is her "first love"); he is apparently admired for his expressivity and his pianissimi. My impression: a beautifully lyrical voice, melodic and smooth but different from, say, Bjorling, who has a sweeter timbre. Di Stefano sounds more...manly? By which I mean, more hotheaded? In any case, Callas really stole the metaphorical stage though, and Mother and I spent most of the short breaks between tracks raving about her voice. She sounds (and looks, if photographs are to be trusted) exactly like Tosca. Also, the coloratura passages in the Mad Scene in Lucia di Lammermoor...so amazing. Is there a soprano role that Callas could not sing?
4. Going to karaoke with angelyrique. We ended up staying for two and a half hours, which meant paying an extra $15. You could sum up the session as a duel between Buzz (reserved by me) and 김종국 (reserved by Angelette, of course). Also, it's really ridiculous that I could score 98 on a song that I don't even have on my computer because I've listened to Angelette sing it at karaoke so often. -_- (Note to self: stop trying to sing Buzz because your voice does not go that low, and you're rather awful at modulating between octaves.)
5. Reading various books that I've been trying to finish for years...not much progress though.
6. Watching TV. Saw the final for American Idol, although I was completely lost as to who was who.
7. Watching the first three episodes 사랑은 리필이 되나요? ("Can Love Get a Refill?") on the KBS website. Although I don't think we're going to watch more of it because we just borrowed all the episodes of 불량가족 ("Bad Family") on VHS. That reminds me, I really need to finish my review of My Girl. By the way, My Girl OST is really difficult to sing at karaoke, especially 상어를 사랑한 인어 ("The Mermaid Who Loved a Shark")...never going to try that again. >_<

Anyone up for hanging out next week (by which I mean Tuesday to Friday)? I'm always up for lunch or a movie. (tryogeru? serendip?)

Yours &c.

Lowell House, on the Feast of St. John of God

( Leftover thoughts from section this afternoon )

In other news, despite my supposed workload, I've been keeping up with 궁. I'm starting to like Shin after all, although I still think Yul looks prettier (especially since he now has black hair). On the other hand, I'm now convinced Yul is quite insane. -_- I also watched My Girl, which I think is actually better than My Name is Kim Samsoon (heresy though that is) for various reasons that may one day find outlet in another long drama summary post. I would even go so far to say that My Girl is possibly one of the best dramas I've watched in the past year, thanks to its excellent cast and thematic coherence. It seems that 이준기 is riding on a wave of popularity from his role as 서정우 (as well as his performance in 왕의 남자, the hit movie that I really have to watch as soon as it comes out on DVD). Why are the playboy characters always more popular? (I always prefer the brooding, emotionally constipated lead myself.) That being said, speaking on a purely shallow basis, both male characters were equally attractive, and I'm awfully glad that neither of them had dyed hair. (The dyed hair seems to be going out of fashion, slowly but surely. I hope Korean actors will come to their senses and realize that black hair just looks better on them. -_-)

Midterms are hitting me one after another (I had my first one today), so if you see me wasting time on LJ, tell me to stay off the computer for once and do some work. Oh, my endless to-do list! ;_;

Yours &c.

Lowell House, on the Feast of St. Marcellus

Dear self,

Yes, it's true the Widener stacks are a marvelous though chilly place to study, but if you are going to attempt to revise for finals at a carrel next to shelves and shelves of books, please don't choose to sit near the contemporary British literature section as this is a really, really stupid idea and will result in your finishing Bridget Jones' Diary* instead of rereading Kierkegaard.

Your voice of conscience

* For some odd reason, I think I actually prefer the movie to the book. That may be because while I've always had a high tolerance for chick flicks, I've never attempted reading chick lit before.

The past week's been a strange combination of frantic productivity followed by utter, utter laziness. In retrospect, more laziness than productivity, although I did manage to write a paper on The Man Who Was Thursday for the course on Job that I felt was worthy of Chesterton (or at least as worthy a paper I am capable of writing). Unfortunately, I decided that the way to reward myself for this achievement was to spend the weekend doing absolutely nothing, other than submit my part for the huge communal study guide compilation. Ugh. I've also been lax in leaving comments on LJ although I am reading the friends list. I keep telling myself that I'll come back and leave comments properly but the combination of needing to study and feeling lazy has proven to be somewhat of a hurdle. Anyway, some belated ramblings that I meant to post up before but did not due to sloth.

( 1. Los Angeles )

( 2. The story of Chunhyang, a summary )

( 3. 궁, the drama version )

( 4. 형사, or Duelist )

( 5. Adventures into the Korean blogosphere )

By the way, two and a half years attending this institution, and until today I had no idea that Widener had a café. -_- Next time, I won't starve lunch but go there to eat instead.

Writing is on a bit of a back burner for now until I get through finals. ;_; Although that didn't stop me from typing up this ridiculously long post.

Yours &c.

Post-script: You know, I've just realized that this entire post is either about Korea or Korean culture or Korean people. O_O This is slightly disconcerting. Is this a recent development or did I always post so much about, well, Korean things before this year? One of these days, I'm going to take a leaf from worldserpent's book and do a poll on what I should post about.

Post-post-script: Wow, this post is long. >_<

Lowell House, on the Feast of St. Charles Borromeo

Why is it that whenever I write original fiction, no matter how nice an outline I write, I always end up doing something entirely different? -_- I edited the first chapter I wrote a few days ago and ended up introducing a character that I planned to bring in at the next chapter. Also, instead of achieving the tone of subtle wrongness that I had hoped for, I ended up veering dangerously close to mannerpunk. ::throws hands up in the air:: This is why I'm not a writer.

Also, people in the grips of Nanowrimo who have already written several thousand words a day, you have my esteem and admiration. Good luck everyone!

Watched episode three of Hana Yori Dango. I've officially gone insane: not only did I sign up with Clubbox so I could download the raw immediately but I also ended up talking to my screen, telling Makino, "빨리 가, 기다리고 있잖아" (trans: "Hurry up and go, he's waiting for you, you know") and babbling at Doumyoji, "좀더 참아봐, 곧 올테니까" (trans: "Be patient a little longer, she'll come soon"). Yes, out loud, in Korean. Gah, this drama is turning me into a total sap.

In other news, I developed a triple blister on my left foot over Alumni Weekend that popped during Wednesday's practice, and although I taped it up securely for today's practice, I discovered that somehow it had started bleeding through the tape. Um. Anyway, Daera kindly poured hydrogen peroxide over the whole thing, and I wrapped it in gauze. Now, it is swathed in Neosporin. Lovely. But I am still determined to put us all through a grueling practice tomorrow, mwahahaha.

Yours &c.

Sherman Fairchild on the Feast of St. Anthony Mary Claret

The recent explosion of oh-so-cool theme communities on my friends list is not-so-good for my sanity. But! Go join 20_aus (as the name says, for AU fics) and 3measures (for OT3s)!

I've been trying to decide on a proper OT3 (that I'm capable of writing, I mean) for 3measures, and to my horror and dismay, the only one I can think of at the moment is Colin/Mary/Dickon from The Secret Garden. I can't pull off a Yorkshire accent! Woe is me. I did sign up for Yankumi/Shin at 20_aus (I've been on a Gokusen kick all weekend), and only by great self-restraint did I stop myself from signing up for Gilbert/Anne as well. >_> (I have this urge to write Gilbert/Anne AUs in exotic but grand historical settings like ancient Egypt or Damascus or Chang'an, never mind the total implausibility of it all. Yankumi/Shin on the other hand would be in every mystery subgenre ever imagined. Quite possibly version Mafia and version Triad too. ^_^)

I spent my weekend sleeping, recovering from my awful cold, and pretending to do homework while in fact actually watching J-drama. Thanks to team7 for alerting us all to the existence of the new Hana Yori Dango drama. I watched the raw yesterday, after downloading off of D-addicts, and enjoyed it much more than Meteor Garden (uh, don't kill me for saying that). It feels more like the manga, in any case, and the actors are all pretty decent. Matsumoto Jun actually looks like Doumyoji to my amazement. Also, I, um, watched the first five episodes of the Gokusen live-action drama, after rereading all the scans. Which makes for a total of about six hours spent staring at Matsumoto Jun's face (he plays Shin in Gokusen too). >_> I started off thinking he wasn't that good-looking, but by the third episode, I ended up being somewhat fascinated by his eyebrows. ^_^

I prefer the manga to the drama, but for a live-action adaptation, Gokusen is rather excellently done. ^_^ I don't know if I'll necessarily finish the series though. I foresee Hana Yori Dango, on the other hand, becoming my dose of procrastination every weekend.

To assure you that I haven't been (completely) drowning myself in shoujo, I finally read the last chapter of Rin! this weekend. Wah. *_* Where is the fic, if any?

Yours &c.