I went to Southport yesterday and it was just my luck to be there on one of the four days every season where high tide explodes and floods the harbor. Luckily high tide was in the evening so my daytime beach fun was not affected, but after dinner at my beloved Provision Company, I had to slosh through tide water to get out of the restaurant. Granted this is an outdoor restaurant right off the marina (literally, it has docks so you can come in by sea), but it was still crazy that when a wave rolled in water shot up through slats in the floor. The whole road out by the shell shop and the new tacky condos flooded- my dad wouldn't drive the car through it so we splashed our way out to the parking lot, which was itself beginning to flood. I can see where tourists would find this annoying, but frankly it was kind of cool. It's something I'd never seen before despite 23 years of vacationing in the area.

Beach was as usual; hot, windy, placid ocean, in other words "fantastic" but for the stinging sand blown into my skin. I'm not sure what the situation is for our family trip, but if it ends up not happening I'm going to pester my parents to take me for a weekend. Or on several more day trips (man do I wish my car had the horsepower to drive on the interstate).

Perhaps most importantly after that last disastrous trip I used 30SPF sunscreen and did not burn- didn't really even tan. Back to 15SPF & pool tomorrow~

a;lskdfj money.

I still gawk at my beloved Bose QC3, but let's be realistic. That's not going to happen unless I win the lottery. Meanwhile, Wesc Oboe cypress variety is only $40 on amazon, but I really really love their brown Bongo style. LOVE.
In related electronics expense news, my camera has been broken since about September. I was going to replace it with a newer Canon Elph or Fujifilm f-series, but then I went to Best Buy and found the SX110. It is one of the cheapest digital cameras available that has any sort of manual control, and I love it. It takes AA batteries, though, and that kind of pisses me off. :/
And remember how after the hassles with Fawkes I swore I'd never do business with Dell again? Well. Their mini Inspiron is really, really fun. And runs XP. In fact, that it runs XP is kind of the main reason I want it (besides that I love little stuff. So portable~).
No one really needs to have a laptop *and* a mini laptop. So that gets shelved with QC3- when I win the lottery/marry rich I can have it. But I will need an electronic dictionary in Japan, whenever that happens. Which reminds me that I wanted to buy a plane ticket to Japan for Christmas break. If I save all my paychecks from now until November I can probably afford it? That might mean an extended stay at home though, and I am not entirely sure that sacrificing my mental health for a few weeks abroad is worth it.
It sounds like I'm some kind of electronic gadget nerd, but that's not it. There are also about $400 worth of osteology/archaeology books on my Amazon wishlist right now.

There needs to be another Japanese family or three move into the area so they can hire me for tutoring. I'm really freaking out now because my kids were sick this week and I didn't work at all, which I guess offsets last week's double hours, but. Sigh. I was really looking forward to a slightly larger-than-usual check for this month. I feel I should disclaim here, I love the actual work. I am way overpaid for my (lack of) qualifications and a lot of the time I feel positively useless, but it really is a lot of fun and is absolutely not all about money. I just have budgeting on the mind now and there is so much I want but can't consider because there is also a lot I need. It's hard being responsible and materialistic :/

I have countered my impulse to spend by not leaving house and watching hours upon hours of K/J drama, but I have to go to Target later. Danger D:

You guys. Omg, you guys. The new Star Trek movie is AWESOME. :D
And I say this as a non-Trekkie and a picky-as-hell moviegoer (have not been to cinema in 10 months). The story is solid, the dialogue is fairly smart, the casting/characterizations are well done, there was only one instance where I thought "wtf why would he do that" a;slkdfj fully worth my $6 matinee ticket price.

Will be buying on DVD, or at least adding to my ever growing list.
Also (may) need to see Wolverine, new Terminator film, Angels and Demons, and Night at the Museum 2. This is already an expensive summer (did I just say I am a discerning moviegoer? let me retract that statement).

There's kind of a lot else I could talk about, but after hockey ends I am going to pass out. The past few nights have afforded both poor quality and quantity in terms of sleep. I've been watching hockey like a fiend; tomorrow I think I'll re-watch Friday's fantastic game to forget about tonight's monstrosity. In between, I've seen Nats a few last times before she moves to Virgina (tomorrow), had birthday thing for Vann&Curits, and did Mother's Day soccer and lunch. I am just about social'd out, which maybe explains why I'm tired lol.

Since last post:

1) other party's insurance agreed to cover the cost of car repairs. This is surprising since my car can't be worth very much; I was sure it was totaled. Sometimes good things happen :D

2) witnessed wreck @ US-1 entry ramp from Walnut Street. Seeing as I was directly behind the (first) car that was hit, I pulled over to make sure people were okay and to give a witness statement to the police. Behold, my quick reflexes kept me out of it (and no kidding, the only thought on my mind at first was: Dad will KILL me if I make him go through insurance channels again). It was scary but I didn't get the adrenaline shakes, just watched it all in slo-mo. And yes, I did consider myself quite a good person afterward.

3) went to beach and got the most epic motherfucking sunburn ever. I know you think I'm exaggerating, and slvrstarlight17 had little pity since she gets burned every year, but guys. It was, is, bad. It was a week ago and I'm still bright red and having trouble bending my knees. I've pretty much lived in my bathtub this week, am single-handedly responsible for the upward turn of Aveeno's stocks, and have used more aloe than in the previous two summers combined.

4) I got mail! First, massive box of fandom and snacks from sweet_mofo arrived, then Map the Soul (FINALLY), then spazzy letter also from Ree. Am working on return box for her (poor soul, her external HDD died ;_;) and am supposed to be watching DVDs but am just slightly intimidated (all those JE-ers, I don't know them! And so many movies with hangul titles that I can't read).

I'm in a really great mood right now for a few reasons. First, I watched Capital Scandal which besides being the best drama I've ever watched, made me cry my eyes out last night. What great stress relief, and satisfying on so many levels. Two, the second half of SuJu's Intimate Note has Hyukjae, Heechul, Sungmin, and Kangin crossdressing and just LOL. Hyukjae makes a ridiculously pretty girl ♥_♥ And while I'm sure the group isn't nearly as gay as they pretend to be, there is nothing that can convince me Sungmin isn't actually a girl trapped in a guy's body. Three, Arashi no Shukudai-kun has some great food that's fun to replicate. Mmm green tea tsukemen~

Lemme go ahead and disclaim: I am bollocks with Chinese names. I included them just to try and keep things straight in my head, but I totally don't know the Chinese schools. Having now caught up to the subs, I'm really impatient for the next set to be released. This is why I need someone with whom to drama-watch: prevent me from writing fandom essays D:

( PoT China! Jiayou! )

Last week was AAPA conference and I've been too lazy to write anything about it before now.

( my comments get progressively longer )

Had lunch with Vann today @ Grand Asia Buffet. I don't see him very often, and I brought back a shot glass for him so thought it'd be fun to chill for a bit (sans his girlfriend. Even he's starting to feel like he needs some space from here, and that's incredible considering how clingy he's been in relationships). Food was really good and just as I was sinking in to some sushi, the waitress asked if my car was the blue Civic. And, well, there's nothing good that can come from that; it turns out someone had hit my parked car as they pulled out from their parking spot and the bumper on the driver's side is wrenched a bit. There's a rant for that, but I don't really have the energy and besides, the woman waited for me to show up and even asked the restaurant workers for help finding me for insurance purposes. Yeah, I'm annoyed. But the other party went out of her way to find me and was very honest to the policeman, and as far as I can tell, it's purely a cosmetic issue, car seems to drive fine. Well, "fine" by the standards of a 1991 hatchback. Still, we called the police and formally filed a report and right now I am SO glad this is technically my dad's car so he can deal with the insurance company.

I'm not even kidding. After I pay for MTS, shell out for Sorry Sorry repackage, buy new copies of both Genki workbooks, and debate about Pieces of You, I am totally buying more paid account time.

So there's nothing of substance here, just a bunch of stuff that made me smile/laugh/flail. :D

Ree has no internet lately, just Blackberry messaging *sadface*
[02:02] --> ree <--: What the hell. I just found my keys in the fridge

( Mithra's Ode to a Cup Noodle )

( EpikJunior )

( Mocchi )

Oh and randomly, Eli rec'd Dororo some time ago for my girl-disguised-as-boy plot fixation. It's a really damn weird movie, but is also ridiculously entertaining. So I hereby recommend it to anyone who enjoyed feudal fantasy in Inuyasha. And if the meandering plot of Inuyasha pissed you off, no worries. It's a 2 hour movie that moves along pretty quickly and reaches something of a resolution in the end- but not TOO much, since the two sequels are due out later this year. :D

It's been a long time since I was sick, so I kind of forgot how much it sucks- even when it's something as small as the common cold. I'm sorry to those whose misery I have underestimated. As you may have figured, I am sick. Woe. I don't feel that bad, but I took generic Sudafed and am floating on groggy drug-induced high. Ugh.

This is all offset by AKJSFDA;SKLDJF;LAKDJF MARCH MADNESS :DDDDDD
At the end of Day 1, my wildfirewing's brackets were in first place. Sadly, after yesterday I imagine it's dropped quite a bit. Wake Forest. WAKE FOREST. WHY ;_;
NCAA.com/mmod has really stepped up their streaming coverage. I especially like how it seems there are no blackout games and the option for video quality is fantastic. While my wireless is fast enough for "best" quality in the living room, moving 7 feet back to my room means I can only watch with "better" quality. Such is life, I suppose.

( epik )

( sometimes people restore my faith in humanity )