Lunar Scribbles v2

You're not supposed to block

You're not supposed to block the subway doors, but sometimes, when there's not place to sit, you can near the doorway. However, today, there was this moderately fat lady who stood at the doorway parallel to the door, so her entire body (from shoulder to shoulder) was blocking more than half the subway door (usually, you can line up 3-4 people shoulder to shoulder by the door). Whenever the door opened, she would just stand there, even though people were struggling to sqeeze in. I mean, if she would just be considerate enough to turn to her side and let people though, that would have been great. But no, she just stood there like a brick wall. End rant.

So yesterday after I left the library, I was heading out when I was accosted by this sweet looking college girl asking me if I wanted to going her Chinese Bible study. For those of you who know me, I'm often too nice, especially if I'm asked something. If I don't manage to hang up on a telemarketer, I average about 1-2 minutes of listening and talking before I hang up. Other people I know would just yell "I'm not interested and hang up." So, that's one reason I was there still listening. Secondly, I was thinking maybe it was a good way to get involved. Thirdly, she did look pretty sweet. But then, I thought, it's the BIBLE. And after 2 minutes of deliberating, I decided to say "Nah, sorry." I can't give up my values for any of the reasons above. What I do feel back about is that halfway through the conversation, I almost cracked up because I was reminded of a friend of mine who, while not being religious, joined a Bible study just to meet the girls there.

Afterwards, I headed over to Kinokuniya and just happened to pass by this place:

Every so often, you can hear all these girls screaming. I guess someone famous passed by. I stopped caring since Eminem got best artist 3-4 years back.

The last night, I went to see XXX with that Japanese friend of mine. We went over to the Lowes in Times Square and wanted to buy tickets to see the Cowboy Bebop movie, but it was sold out. For the whole weekend. And this was the day before the first showing. Oh well. It's not like it was Love Hina or anything. I didn't particular have interest in anything else they were showing.

Got 2 more DVDs last night, the lasted edition of Kenshin as well as I, My, Me Strawberry Eggs. Yes, I said I wasn't going to start anything new in May, but Strawberry Eggs was on my "to buy" list since March. I also go Onimusha 2, as well as the system to play it on. It's a fun game, just a brain dead hack and slash.

And I was saved last night! So I busted a new pair of contacts yesterday morning and at night, I realized that I didn't have any contact solution. So, I just walked outside for 2 blocks and found myself a Gristedes (market). Sure beats having to drive to the drug store. I love the convenience here.

Phone and cable/cable modem are coming next Wednesday. Maybe I can finally check my jupiterstar email account.

Finally here at school, chilling

Finally here at school, chilling in the school library again. I love having a social life again!

So, in the library, I bumped into a friend of mine who's Japanese and is learning English. You see, I usually always email him in Japanese, but when he showed up, I went stupid. Whereas during the past few months, yours truly has been doing translations his head whenever he hears a sentence of interest, and usually doesn't have problems with it, yours truly this time couldn't even figure out of how to say "this weekend." I need to speak it more instead of just being able to listen and read. Anyway, being that he's leaving in a day or two, I'm going to hang out with him tonight. Funny thing is that we were deciding on a meeting place. Since he was going to be in mid-town, I told him to go meet me at the Yoshinoya (aka the best fast food restuarant around). I asked him if he was going to want to eat there. He paused (Japanese people are usually very polite and don't say "no" so you have to figure them out), and so I quickly added that I would be there at 5:30 waiting for him. So I gave him an escape route without him having to decline me. I really don't blame him for not wanting to eat there. If I were in Japan, to hell would I want to eat at a Burger King, KFC, or McDonalds.

Nothing spectacular happened last night when I flew in. Couldn't get to sleep until 4am due to jet lag.

Very exciting weekend coming up. Hopefully going to AXNY, but still need to register and get tix. God, they're crazy. If you look at their video presentations, they have anime playing on like 5 theater screens for the entire weekend, even at 3:14 am Sunday morning. I would probably get sick before then.

Stupid, I can't connect to Server Luna at home in California. Which means, I can't updated anything on Hina*. Sucks, I've decided to make the song lyrics it's own section, but can't do it at this moment.

Well, I shall be off now to 50th St. Probably take pictures outside Radio City Music Hall, which is going to host tonight's MTV Music Awards, as well as visit my most favorite store (one of) in NYC, Kinokuniya. And then...probably just go home. Note to self: buy toilet paper.

I'm DONE!!!!!!!!!! All 36 (or

I'm DONE!!!!!!!!!! All 36 (or was it 37? 38? I'm so fried) vocal songs from Love Hina. If it has a melody and a voice, it's transcribled. Now comes the tough part. I'm going to sit through and EDIT my translations, which means listening to the 2 BEST OF CDs as well as half a dozen or so of songs that weren't including on it. Fun fun. Two+ hours of Love Hina music.

Lunar Scribbles is in dire

Lunar Scribbles is in dire need of a facelift. Maybe I'll lift a theme from Hinastar? Maybe.

I've translated 12 songs, working on numero 13 right now and I've come to the conclusion that animelyrics.com has very very poorly translated Love Hina songs. It's awful. I can understand typos and some creativity in translations, but to be COMPLETELY off base... Like I say, never trust anything you read on the Internet (including me, of course). Always do it yourself.

I just checked the outcome

I just checked the outcome of the Yahoo Auctions and it turns out that the guy who won the "Friendship" CD (the same one I was bidding for last time, but didn't this time) won it for Y16,000. That's $160 bucks. That's crazy. One of the reasons I didn't really bid this time was because unlike the last one which was brand new and wrapped in original packaging, this was used. Like hell I'm going to buy something used for such a high price. Oh well. $160 could almost get me another PS2, which I might need since my brother wants to keep my old one.

And what's funny is the rampant plagarism on the Internet (which I guess isn't unusual). So I'm doing the romanization and translations for the Love Hina songs, right? I see that what's on animelyrics.com is wrong (the romanization part...which should be a simple process). Then I do a search on google, and everyone else who has it HAS THE SAME ERROR! Some don't even reference where they got the information from.

Looks like my Japanese is

Looks like my Japanese is getting better. I've translated 7 songs in just under 6 hours. Yes it's 3am, but I had to wait for Anime Jungle to post their new inventory (7pm JST = 3am PST) to see if I wanted to order anything with the LH OVA DVD (don't you just love acronyms?). Looks like nothing of interest from today, although I will be getting an anime techno CD...

Sleep! (finally). Oyasumi minna-san!

The time of ceasing work

The time of ceasing work on Hinastar is slowly approaching. My computer will be packed up and shipped to my little POSH apartment in NYC on Tuesday, and who knows when I'll have a chance to work on the web site again since I won't have cable modem/DSL installed until I get there. So right now, I'm cranking out some work (Friday night in Santa Cruz isn't that exciting...plus, everyone I know lives out of town...poor me). Already translated 3 Love Hina songs...I never knew that "Smile Smile" was such a sweet song.

And Anime Jungle pulls through with my request! I requested the first edition of the second Love Hina OVA DVD (I have the 1st and 3rd). I thought they wouldn't get it in anytime soon, but they just sent me a notification! So if they mail it tomorrow from Japan, it'll get to me on Tuesday, when I'm still here. Unfortunately, my scanner will probably already be on a UPS plane (NEVER send computer items through UPS using ground. They're experts at busting them up. My LCD monitor broke Junior year when I shipped it through them and they didn't even want to take responsibility because the box didn't have a hole through it. Fortunately, Viewsonic was nice enough to send me a replacement free of charge. Viewsonic is a good company. Buy from them.).

There was an article in

There was an article in PC Magazine a few weeks ago with one of my favorite columnists, John Dvorak, writing about blogs. He listed a few things for a successful web log. Let's evaluate 'scribbles, okay?

1. The right attitude. Make it clear that you spend the day, week, or month sitting on your rump reading other blogs instead of looking for work. Or if you actually work, make it clear that you are writing the blog at work, because you hate your job.

I think I've been doing a good job with being a consistent writer.

2. Community. Prove that you're a dedicated blogger by citing at least five other blogs that you just read. Praise them ad nauseum. Then comment on links that their authors discovered and cut and paste these links to your blog. If you're trying to jazz up your blog, italicize the text that you cut from the other blog. Add a sentence or two as to why each link is so cool. Teasers work well too. "Can you believe this?" or "What is he thinking?" or "How can anyone be so wrong?"

Ha ha, I quote NO ONE since no one I knows actually keeps a blog. It amazes me sometimes at the blogs on the Otaku web ring where the writer list like 50+ other blogs that they read DAILY. Wow. In my opinion, it's not a popularity contest, so what the heck.

3. Humility. Blog daily. If you miss a day, use the next day's entire blog entry to apologize profusely. Explain in detail the fascinating adventure you had that caused you to miss a day of blogging. Make sure to rave about how great blogging is and why everyone should blog and how blogging will change the world.

If you go back to the earlier entries, I used to do that. But I could care less now. Call it apathy. Everyone misses a day. AND WEB LOGGING IS COOL!

4. Rich language. Show that you're an independent free spirit by adding a lot of profanity to your text. Profane headlines and general cussing show people that you are an autonomous thinker not bound by the silly conventions of society--those lousy rules that make you have to work for a living when you should be getting a check from the government just for being alive!

I f***ing think my f***ing writing is the sh*tz. Biatch!

5. Jargon. Pepper your text with words like screed, grok, gonzo, meme, and other bloggerisms to show that you are a hip and with-it blogger. Women bloggers should use the word sister a lot.

'SUP BROTHER!

6. Controversy. Make sure your blog page has a list of your favorite bloggers, and hound them to put your blog on their lists. If you get removed from someone's list, make a public outcry and demand to be returned to the place of honor, or threaten to take the other blogger's name off your list. Go through this routine weekly with someone.

Now that's obsession. Shall I become an Internet stalker?

7. Humor. Give your blog a cute name, perhaps even using a pun. "Blog on the Run." "Blogday Afternoon." "Bloggin' Fool." "Hot Blog and Relish." Or name the blog after a title of a great novel: "The Sound and the Fury," "The Naked and the Dead." In a pinch, use "My Blog."

BONUS POINTS HERE! What can be more cuter than "Lunar Scribbles?" Nothing! Heh heh.

8. Specialize. If you want to trumpet the fact that you're a rockin' techie, constantly harp on Linux, and link to the cool scripts you've written. Link to a lot of anti-Microsoft diatribes. Use 6-point type and no page breaks, so the blog looks like source code when it's displayed on the screen. Add color to make it even more unreadable. Use the word warez now and again.

Can you say "anime" and "Love Hina?"

And in tidbit news, I'm now listed on the first page of google when you search for "Love Hina" YEAH!

So here's what happened on

So here's what happened on the trip (I actually came back Sunday night, so hence the updates on Hina*):

My mom decides almost on the spot to go to San Diego on Saturday to help my sister find an apartment. So my mom, my sister, and I leave Saturday afternoon and reach the San Diego area Saturday night. One big mistake here. It's Southern California, which has Knott's Berry Farm, Disneyland, Magic Mountain, Legoland, the beach, and warm weather. It's also Saturday night. We didn't book a room in advance. So we go down there and motel after motel, everything is booked full. When I was leaving one city at 11pm, I took the wrong turn and ended up at the gates of this military base. I kindly told them that I made a wrong turn since it was 11pm at night and I couldn't see the signs and just wanted to get back on the freeway. The lady soldier told that before I do that, I needed to get my car checked out and pointed me to this line of cars in the parking lot. So, my sister was awakened when they wanted all of us to get out of the car. Open all the doors to the car, including the back door (my car's an SUV), as well as the front hood. They wanted to see my license, registration, and insurance. Heck, I thought I was going to get a pat down. But I didn't, and luckily, they released us. But what the hell, right? Just let me make a U-turn! So at 1am, we decide that it's too late to find a place to stay, so we pull over at a rest area and, unsurprisingly, it was jam packed with other homeless drivers like us. Fortunately, we got the last space there and so slept for like 4 hours.

After that, everything seemed pretty good. We got the apartment in 3 hours, from the first inquiry at one place, to finally getting an apartment at another place and drove back that night.

Since I'm going back on the 28th, I'm thinking of going to Anime Expo in Times Square NYC that weekend. I really don't think I'm that interested in anime fests despite my interest in anime (plus, I'd get the boot very fast once it's revealed that I think anime is still a cartoon). And on top of that, last year's ticket was like $75 bucks a day. But this year, it's only $25 dollars. May go check out to see what the hubub is. Some people pay like 300 bucks for hotel rooms plus plane fare for the event, so I guess it's somewhat serious.

And so my mom decides

And so my mom decides almost on the spur of the moment to drive down to San Diego (8 hour drive) with my sister to find her an apartment for school. Lucky me gets to be dragged along too and probably become the chauffeur. Coming back Monday, I believe.

And the reality of school is starting to hit me. Just got an email from the assistant dean asking if I was going to come back to school as scheduled. It has begun...

Had to go up to

Had to go up to San Francisco today for my mom's passport stuff. Of course, I managed to eek out a visit to Japantown, and low-and-behold, I come out with Love Hina Infinity (manga fan book). Of course, there were a lot more stuff I wanted to buy, i.e. CDs and such, but had no money (literally...I gave my cash to my mom because she thought she was going to host a lunch for some relatives...and I didn't really want to use my CC to buy more anime...considering all my charges last month on my Visa card yet again required YEN conversions). May go again tomorrow to pick up the passport or something like that. Dunno. Maybe I'll have a change of heart and have more cash in my pocket.

Well, despite telling myself I won't work on my Love Hina web page, I have been. For some reason, it just really eats at me knowing that the site is still incomplete! I hate that feeling.

Wow, I finished all of

Wow, I finished all of Love Hina manga #8 today...which means #9 tonight and hopefully I'll be done sooner than expected. Then, I can go back to working on the site again. Maybe, maybe not. The TV series of Love Hina ends in book #7, the Spring Special ends with book #8. Going into unknown territory! Well, not exactly, I just watched the first OVA today (just came from Japan). It's okay I guess, but still a bit strange. Maybe the book will clear it up. I'm also thinking of starting to play my video games again. I miss playing video games. Or even reading some english books. Haven't read much books lately (besides magazine articles and such) in english.

TRUMPED! Use ~$1 = Y100.

TRUMPED! Use ~$1 = Y100. So the item I was going to get started Y1200 = $12 (no reserve crap like that). I put my maximum bid at Y15000 ($150), AND I LOST THE AUCTION! But lookie, another has surfaced just as this one finished. But I gotta ask myself, is it that important?

God, I hate auctions.

How come I seem to

How come I seem to always be the one who picks up the last copy of "Animage" magazine at the Japanese bookstore? Maybe my luck will run out one of these days. Well, my proxy bidder has kicked in and with 5 hours to go, I'm only Y100 above the original asking price (someone else already bid the asking price, so my proxy went up Y100).

Mmm...nothing much today. The gas gauge on the car doesn't work well. Always says it's 1/4 full. Have to go by the odometer, I guess. Since it's a Jeep, it's usually a good idea to get a refill at 250 miles.

Uh oh, my anime purchasing

Uh oh, my anime purchasing willpower are being tested. Like I've said before, I'm not buying any more new anime. My sentiments have been confirmed considering I couldn't sit though even one showing of Kenshin nor KareKano onr CCS (Kenshin is understandable because it's said to suck hard where I'm currently at, which is like episode #80 something). Which means, my interest in anime is waning (due to Love Hina). HOWEVER, I get news of a new anime series created by Ken Akamatsu (creator of Love Hina), starring Yui Horie (voice of Naru). PLUS, the limited edition CD is out NOW (initial release, meaning, buy soon and get bonuses or else get regular edition or same price). Willpower, willpower...

crap...looks like someone put down a bit for MY Love Hina item. Wait 'till they get the surprise come 15 seconds before end of auction. Heh heh heh.

How come people are so

How come people are so desperate to advertise that they would steep so low as to use your GUESTBOOK to publicize. Pathetic. Check out my normal guestbook (non-Love Hina one) for the *second* advertisement I've had in two weeks (I deleted the first one already). This advertisement will disappear soon after I prove my case.

Blah blah, been sleeping for

Blah blah, been sleeping for most of yesterday and today. Blame it on jetlag...or carlag in my case. I'm in the mist of bidding for something really really special (can you guess what *anime series* it could possibly be from?). Two more days until I know.

Hooray for me! My Jubei-chan

Hooray for me! My Jubei-chan site has been listed in this month's "Last Exit" at anipike.com for the best Jubei-chan site. A short but flattering review too about the design. Ironic though, since I ended up dumping that design in the Love Hina pages because I thought no one liked it. Oh well. You see, in my opinion, Jubei-chan was a small series, so it wasn't too hard to make a great page, simply because competition wasn't as tight. But with Love Hina, it's one of the biggest anime series out there, so of course, there are going to be lotsa people who are making pages for it, and so I have to be a step above and beyond. Hence, the theming engine and such.

In my absence, I got 5 DVDs delivered! KareKano #1, Cardcaptor Sakura #10, Kenshin #19, Evangelion Movie, and Escaflowne Movie (special edition). Gonna sit down for some hard core watching soon.

So, I guess you want to know about my trip to and from NYC, eh?

As you know, I left last last Thursday, the 25th of July and got to NYC. My sister had booked us in this place called Amsterdam Court on 50th St. and 8th Ave. through Expedia.com. On the site, she requested that we have 2 double beds, but we ended up with this one queen sized bed in a very very cramped room (the wall were literally 3 feet away from each side of the bed). I guess that's what you get for $100 bucks a night in NYC. My sister and I each took the floor for two nights during the 4 night stay there.

We walked around the city Friday and saw Austin Powers opening night in the AMC 25 in Times Square. That's also where I discovered that one of my favorite fast food restaurants, Yoshinoya, had opened up a store. My food worries for next semester have been resolved!

My meeting with the apartment broker was scheduled for Saturday at noon. I met up with him and we went around the city looking at apartments. I ended up deciding on this one in SoHo, which was a studio. It looked small and cute, with a separate kitchen. So I submitted my application for that. That night, I hung out with another friend of mine and went to see "Road to Perdition" at the Lowes also in Times Square (the AMC and Lowes are facing each other on 42nd St.). We also ate in Chinatown, drank Bubble Tea, and we're merry.

Sunday was another boring day. I spent some time at school using their wireless network.

Come Monday, my sister and I left the hotel and were supposed to go to New Haven to clean out the storage room we rented and to start the drive back to California. However, I got a call saying that the people who were helping me submit my application wanted me to go and pre-sign the lease so that I can move in immediately after it's approved. My sister and I go our separate ways for the day. I stay around in NYC, and she leaves for Connecticut. I go to agent place (this agent is different than my broker), and sign the lease. However, they wanted me to prove that I was doing something in NYC as part of the application, so I go and fetch my transcript. They also wanted me to show more money from my mom, who would be doing the guarentor. We already showed them that we had more than 50K in bank accounts, CDs, and such, but they wanted MORE and also wanted to see her tax return. Apparently, for a $1400 apartment, the guarantor needed to make more than 130K. So I tell my mom to fax them stuff about our business, which she is the sole owner, and makes quite a bit. I also asked my mom to get a business letter from the manager at the bank and our accountant to certify everything and fax it over. So I do that, and think everything is fine.

Monday night, we stay at New Haven, at a Econo-Lodge, where the a/c didn't work for half the night. Tuesday, my sister and I think that everything's okay in NYC, so we start our journey back. But first, I said I was going to stop by my undergrad college, Cornell, in upstate Cornell. So for Tuesday night, I was at Cornell and hung out at the places that I used to (including eating at HK, and going to Wegmans). Wednesday morning, I hit the campus bookstore and buy some official alumni gear and head off westward. About 3/4 of the way across NY state, I get a call from my broker saying that the other agent had some problems with the application. Because my mom's business is self-owned, the tax stuff isn't as clear cut as it would be if she was working for someone else. So I called up the agent and he tells me that they wanted me to PROVE that I had MORE money. Look, I already gave them the bank statements for 50K+ in personal investments (both my parent's and my account), gave them the bank statement for the business (which was almost as much), plus the tax portion for the store which showed the gross income from the store, which was more than enough to cover the guarantor's part. But they told me that they needed MORE stuff, otherwise they wouldn't approve. This is what they told me. They needed to see 250K in liquid investments or at least 750K in real estate. And this was only to RENT an apartment at 1400 a month! I got pissed off and broke off the deal since I got the feeling that they were playing games with me. Hell, the money I already showed them was more than enough to BUY OFF the place. Screw them, I have enough financial freedom that I don't need to bend backwards for them.

So Wednesday afternoon, we swung back to NYC, so in essence, we traveled 400 miles and ended up in the exact same place. Needless to say, I wasn't happy nor was my sister. So on Thursday, I meet with my broker again and we go through our options. Apparently, there was this apartment that opened up in Chelsea Wednesday night for 1500, which my broker thought I would really love. However, when he called the manager again, the manager said that someone else already offered a year's rent up-front for the place that morning. So we go with my original #2 plan, another studio in SoHo. But it turns out that that was taken Wednesday night! So we walk around some more and look, but nothing seemed to interest me. So I figured that I might as well come back later in August and get it since I'd rather not settle for something if I'm getting help from a broker. But late that afternoon, my broker called me and told me that the Chelsea apartment had opened up! The owner of the building likes to get to know her tenants, and didn't like this new guy. Plus, the guy wanted to start his lease later in the month. The owner wanted a tenant NOW. And I wanted to get an apartment NOW (so that I could finally drive back). So basically, we showed her all the stuff I gave to the previous agent, and she just looked at it an approved me. Not even a call to verify the letters nor credit check. It's all luck, I tell you.

So Friday, I go and get the keys. That night, I decide that I drive all my stuff from the storage place in Connecticut into my apartment, so we can finally end the 2 year lease we had on that thing. The problem is that we had already loaded up the car with my sister's and my stuff that we wanted to bring back to California. So for Friday evening, we unloaded the car and switched the stuff with my stuff in storage. It just so happens that Friday night was THE WORSE night to be driving. After a week of clear weather, it started thunderstorming and rained mucho. Plus, I was driving into NYC, which has cramped freeways with many a crazy drivers. Very scary. We moved everything in Friday night and crashed at my new pad (there's actually curbside parking outside my apartment on weekends for free! The going rate for parking in parking structures is 10 bucks for 30 minutes). Since I had no bed, we busted out the sleeping bags and slept on the floor.

Saturday, we hit IKEA in New Jersey and I got my futon/bed, throw rug, and a table. We're gonna make my place POSH! =) That afternoon, we went back to Connecticut and reloaded the stuff from storage that we originally had and told the supervisor there that we're vacating. We left the east coast around 3pm Saturday.

We switched off driving and drove through the night (crashing at a rest area when necessary). Sunday, I visited a friend in the Chicago area. BUT BEFORE THAT, THE STRANGEST THING HAPPENED. I was a few miles away from Illinois on the freeway in Indiana when I see that the car in front of me, a limo, had stopped in the middle of the road and a guy had run out and was waving his hand frantically. Being a good samaritan, I pulled over as well as another car. Knowing it would be some type of emergency, I grabbed my cell phone too. Sure enough, the guy who was waving called out to me and the other guy, Todd, to call 911. I gave Todd my phone and went over to the car. Apparently, the driver of the limo was spazing out and was bleeding from the mouth. The guy waving his arms was the passenger and he thought the driver was having a heart attack.

The passenger, I think his name was Jim, pushed the guy over on the front seat and drove the limo to the side of the road. The passenger side door was open and the driver's head and arms were outside the car, so I was there holding his arm and head, running beside the limo, as Jim drove it to the shoulder of the freeway. When we stopped, the guy was still spazing, so I kinda figured that it couldn't have been a heart attack (he would have gone limp a LONG time ago if it was a heart attack). We figured that he had bit his own tongue and that's why he was bleeding from the mouth. Anyway, I told Jim to keep the driver laying down, but the driver didn't want to stay down. Rather, his eyes were wide open and he look just out of it. When the highway patrol finally came, Jim was there trying to hold down the driver near the rear of the limo. The patrol came and also tried to restrain him, but couldn't, and told the guy that he might have to use handcuffs. However, the both of them couldn't hold down this 50-some year old limo driver. Todd decided to jump in, but I stayed out. Todd was like 6 feet, I'm a scrawny 5'8". I didn't think I could help. Finally, more patrol came and Todd and I were relieved of duty. I thought he was just in severe shock from a seizure or something. Todd thought he was on PCP, crack, or some other potent drug.

So we went to Illinois, and at that time, I looked up the location of this comic book store in Omaha, Nebraska, where two of my online friends frequent. I arrive there at 8:30pm, while it was still open and scope the place out. It's more of a comic book store rather than anime, but I was impressed with it's collection of anime comics. It also turns out that one of online friends was also in there at the same time. In fact, he was the only other customer in there. But since I never met him in person, how would I have known?

From there, we just drove and drove and drove, finally arriving back home at 3am Tuesday morning. Not bad speed.