You are a Social Liberal (71% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (18% permissive) You are best described as a: Socialist Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

It's Friday! AGAIN! OMG

Whatever will we do??? It's yet another Friday. Someone should alert the presses. I am in a very...odd mood today. If you couldn't tell that already, you should probably go bang your head against a wall for several minutes. A soft wall. Not like a brick one or anything. As usual, I have not updated for...awhile. Two weeks, actually. Not a record, for certain. ^_^;;;

Well, to move onto the important stuff. The last couple weeks have been busy. Not hectic-busy, just busy. I had a test in my US Politics class. I got a very high B. 89.5%. But you don't really want to hear about how boring my classes are. Or read about it, either. I know what you all really wanna hear about...Tori and kittens. In about that order.

Victoria is loving preschool. She loves the kittens too. In fact, she loves some of them more than others, and this was evidenced quite glaringly when we took the kittens to visit her preschool class on Thursday. Whiskey and Kir and Vader were fairly resigned to being fawned over and loved on by fifteen three and four year olds. Scotch didn't seem to mind overly much either, but he got tired of it after awhile. Guiness, on the other hand...took one look at that room full of little grasping hands and ran away. Or tried to run away. At least three little boys chased him, further scaring him, and I was the lucky one who finally caught him. Poor guy. He just curled up on me and shook. He definitely needs to be loved more often.

Tori is getting so big. She continues to make sure we all know her full name. In fact, she imperiously states it whenever you call her by a nickname when she's not happy with you. She's so cute.

The kittens are also getting big. They have started using the litterbox and eating dry food. They continue to follow Gin around and nurse, but they do so less and less and for shorter periods of time. They have taken to sleeping on my bed with me, in shifts it seems. I start the night with two or three of them, and in the morning there's a different set of kittens in the bed with me. Often, I wake up with 7 cats in my bed. <3 Their eyes are changing, and they have such distinctive personalities. Guiness is rather a loner, who likes to fight but not to cuddle or be petted. Whiskey likes to cuddle, and is quite the accomplished jumper. Though he's barely 8 inches from nose to butt, that kitten is a fearless jumper; the only one who will jump off the bed without creeping down the side several inches first and prefering to span the distance between the bed and the barricade (it has quilts hanging on it and the cats like to sit upon it) in a single wild leap. He's so damn cute. Kir likes to run about and fight with his brothers, but when he wants a cuddle, he's the sweetest kitten on earth. He's one of the kittens who likes to spend the entire night in my bed. Scotch is a sweety. He likes to chase string. And little mice. And Gin's tail, much to her dismay. He also likes to sleep with me. Vader...Caleb's kitten. Such an appropriate name it is, too. Vader, who terrorized the Jedi. His namesake, who terrorizes his brothers regularly. This kitten is an accomplished climber. The only one of the five to get atop the banister thus far, which scared the hell out of me. And three of his brothers, who were napping on the floor below when he lept from the banister and landed in their midst. To be more precise, when he landed with one paw (at least) on each of them. I'm sure they were not amused by my laughter, though Vader seemed quite pleased with his prank as he strolled away. He does similar things, leaping off of chairs, the coffee table, the davenport, the bed, and steps onto his unsuspecting parents and siblings. They definitely light up and lighten my life.

The kittens are quickly learning about clothing. Victoria likes to wrap them up in blankets and is now trying to put clothing on them. hee hee. Barb and I used to do that to our kittens. And our cats. The best part is, I didn't even teach her that! She just started doing it. Soooo cute. Poor cats.

Anything else I can bore you with today? Not really, I guess. <3

Random quote: There are those who think the world would be a better place if we shot fewer films and more actors.

Friday!

Yes, it is finally Friday! w00t. This week has been...interesting. Thus far, I am acing my Japanese class (with 16/15 points possible). I have a test in my U.S. Politics class on Monday, with a review session on Sunday at 8 pm. Don't think I'm going to make it, though... And I had a quiz in my Intro to Comp. Politics class today. Of the ten questions, there are two I'm not sure I answered correctly.

My kittens have mastered the stairs. Are they old enough for that yet? They're so cute. Vader is definitely the runt, but very appropriately named - he terrorizes the other four regularly.

Something I forgot to mention in my earlier post: Victoria started Preschool at the Manhattan Headstart on the 29th. She seems to really be enjoying it; she is more relaxed and easier to get along with, so in turn, I am more relaxed when she's around. happiness.

I had dinner with Micah last night. <3 That was nice. We're both sick. I think he's had it worse than I have, since he had a major attack of allergies about the time the cold kicked in. We went to Carlos O'Kelly's (I <3 free chips and salsa). Unfortunately, we were both having to go do other things (we both think that clean clothes are important), so we just met for dinner. But it was nice to see him; I really enjoyed it.

Sunday is Sara's Bridal Shower. I haven't gotten her anything. I'm going to, but I won't have it before her wedding, I think. Eddie (her fiancè) is coming in from England tonight, so he'll be there, too. yay!

And now...I must run away to work. u.u; BUT I UPDATED! TWICE IN ONE WEEK! CALL THE PRESS!!!

^____________^;;;

Scotch! Kitten #5!

Kir, Guiness, and Vader...

Whiskey! Kitten...

Relationship Help for the Clueless

School, and Birthdays!

We got back from Otakon just in time for school to start again. w00t. Thus far, my classes have been okay. Not bad, just okay. Except for Expository Writing...the teacher is rather confusing; that is, she is often overly verbose or vague, and it makes it hard to get the point. We have a paper due today, and I have no idea about it. I'm seriously thinking of using my one late paper on it, but I don't want to really. As soon as I get off, I'm headed for the library to finish it. Bleh.

My US Politics class and Intro to Comparative Politics class are both interesting thus far. The books, on the other hand...put me out cold. Which is not happy at all. It could be worse, I suppose. But it still sucks.

I am really liking my Japanese class, though. I'm learning (amazingly enough) quite quickly and pretty easily. The teacher is a sweetheart. So...yeah.

Birthday! Mom ... celebrated the 23rd anniversary of her 21st birthday on Friday. She went with a friend to a Willie Nelson concert. Apparently, she enjoyed it. All of us, however, forgot. Well, we didn't really forget. But she thought we did. On Sunday, Scott was home and we had a few people over for dinner and had cake and ice cream. Apparently, Mom thought that was her party. Whatever. We are such good children. On Monday evening, we invited a crap-ton of people over (like...30) to surprise her. Danita - one of her friends - took her out to dinner, and when she got back there were at least 25 people there. We managed to get her in the house before she realized, and she was shocked. She cried a little. <3 Steven totally planned the party and invited everyone - he even went so far as to go by the houses of a few people when he couldn't find their numbers - and all I had to do was get cake (cheesecake, Mom's fave, supposedly). So, hats off to our new master party planner. w00t!

However, I am now sick. I have a cold, and I lay the blame right where it belongs - on Rita. She was sick last week, and then came and sat next to me during one of our classes. Now I'm sick. Damn it. Ah well. It could be worse, I suppose. Micah's sick too, and he's got it worse than I do. Happy thoughts for both of us to get better soon, please.

Kittens!

While I was in Vegas, my cat had her kittens! Five, all boys, and all cute as buttons (where did that phrase come from, anyway???). Thus far, at least three and possibly four of them have homes with friends. They are sooo cute! And growing...they were four weeks old yesterday. OMG. Pictures: http://photobucket.com/albums/v490/mela_777/Kittens/

Second! OTAKON!!!

The trip I have been preparing for all year! And now it has come and gone. Le sigh.

Otakon was so great! I finished Micah's costume literally the night before the con. Like...at his grandparent's house (we stayed with them) in Baltimore on Thursday night. Despite the last minute touches, it still looked awesome. He got tons of compliments and requests for pics. Unfortunately, neither of us won anything in the costume contests, but I still felt like our costumes were a marked improvement from last year's. Micah went as Lloyd from Tales of Symphonia, for those who don't remember, and I went as Robin from Witch Hunter Robin.

Outside of the cosplay side of things, the con was really neat. The dealer's room was huge this year! They had easily 150% of the space they had last year, and since a few major dealers were missing, the room seemed much bigger. I found some awesome deals on souvenirs and manga. I got Victoria the cutest little 'Hello Kitty' plushie, and for Ben I got a men's clothing set in blue and red. Steven I got a Neo (Matrix) style coat, which he claims to 'love'. I got Mom a really awesome souvenir from Vegas, and I didn't really find anything for her at Otakon, unfortunately. But she liked the Asian-style shirt I got her.

And of course, there was the anime. Unfortunately, it seemed like we always had something going on during the showings we wanted to see, but we did manage to squeeze in a viewing of the first four episodes of 'Genshiken', a really interesting anime about and anime/manga club at a Japanese university. I really enjoyed it.

The masquerade was rather disappointing. After last year's awesomeness, this year's masquerade skits were rather lifeless and dull. There were a few that were really neat, but overall the masquerade was rather 'blah'.

Then, there was teh ToS gathering on Saturday. Micah was one of three Lloyds, and by coincidence there were three Collettes, too! Of the Lloyds, I can honestly say (having also been told this by many many people) that Micah's costume was the most accurate, detail-wise. With all the work I put into it, it damn well better have been the best! Everyone loved it. There was a huge group of characters from the game - I don't think we were missing any of the main characters, and we even had an Undine (a summon; the girl's costume was amazing!) and a wonder chef. It was really fun.

I am squirming with anticipation for next year! ^____________^

P.S. Otakon Pics can be found at my Photobucket account: http://photobucket.com/albums/v490/mela_777/Otakon%202005/

First, Las Vegas!

Wow. Can it really be a month since I've posted? I should be...kicked. Gently, of course. But kicked none the less.

SO. I spent the first full week of August (7-14) in Fabulous Las Vegas! Micah's grandparents celebrated their 50th Anniversary, and to celebrate, their kids took them to Vegas and were kind enough to invite me. w00t. Vegas was a lot of fun. We mostly just wandered around the casinos and took in the free shows. On Tuesday, we went to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, which was really neat. Otherwise, we stayed in the city. Micah and Josh (Rita's boyfriend - Rita is Micah's sister) gambled a little, as did Mike (Micah's dad) and Pop Pop (Micah's grandfather). Two of Micah's cousins on his dad's side and one of his dad's brothers and his wife came as well. The cousins stayed with us, and they were really cool. We got on very well. We stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations Resort, which was about a mile or so from the strip but nice anyway. And free, so that was good. I don't really know what else to say about Vegas. It was hot, but not humid like Kansas gets. Overall, I really enjoyed myself. It was nice to get to spend some time with Micah and his family and get to know them a little better.

Oh. Wednesday night, Barb, Rita, Grandma, and I got to go to a show with the cousins. (Barb is Micah's mom) It was a variety show, and while some of it was a little odd, there were a few acts that were hilarious. Unfortunately, it's rather hard to describe the funnier acts, because you really had to be there. The jokes just don't come off as well...<3