i. because memes with photos are fun
Flickr Meme, copied off Toni.

( Meme Rules under cut )



( Photo Credits: )

ii. taeyang quarterly update
Taeyang Quarterly's done! At the very least, we made the finals. Here are our entries ( for the last two challenges under the cut: )

i. it's 5:24pm
...And I don't think anyone's getting any work done anymore. Everyone's in party mood, a bunch of people went out to shop for last minute Secret Santa presents, a few are taking care of pre-party prep, and some are just simply loafing around.

I'd love to get to prance around myself, especially since today's deadlines have been taken care of, but since I still have 2 work orders for projects due on Tuesday, for some reason, I can't totally relax. Guilt complex probably.

Ah who am I kidding. Still...*pushes self* THINK KAO! THINK! Do your name studieeeeezzzz!

ii. stolen from faerydragonet
Had to post, it absolutely cracked me up, imagining my LJ friends prancing around.

Another meme I've been meaning to try, but haven't had the time to do so. Taken from khursten.

Summarize 10 of your fandoms in one sentence, then see who on your friends' list can guess each fandom.
I know, I know. It says one sentence summaries, but I tried it, and I sucked. Besides, guidelines like these look cuter. Oh yeah, there are a couple of non-anime items here, so guess away!

1. Don't judge a book by its cover. Appearances can be deceiving. But eyes that change to amber are a dead giveaway.
Rurouni Kenshin - ficsation

2. Be careful in picking fights, even when they're with pipsqueak shrimps. You never know what's lying underneath those gloves. Full Metal Alchemist Alchemizt, as according to astrocigarettes-Way.

3. Make sure you're always well-dressed because you never know where you'll suddenly be summoned. The Chronicles of the Chrestomanci - angstxiety

4. Always bring an umbrella, because the powers that be can emo with the weather. Especially when said power that be doesn't even have the sense to know when to go in out of the rain. The Sandman (remember that scene where he's crying in the rain, after Thessaly leaves him?) - squickyclean

5. Do not suddenly strip in front of strangers. Check first for gender clues. Long hair, a dress, and girlie giggling do not automatically mean female. W-Juliet - jov

6. Don't go off breaking young girls' hearts. They might grow up into light-fearing, slasher flick loving, anatomical model collecting creatures. Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge - magnetic_rose

7. Be a real man! Wearing fundoshi (traditional japanese loincloths) is the key! Well, either that or you can join the local yakuza. Gokusen - khursten

8. Do not talk to stuffed animals. They might talk back. Nor should you fall for your elder brother's best friend. So ghey. Card Captor Sakura - ruk

9. Clean your house. The acoustics change when you get rid of all your trash. Plus, you can harvest mushrooms while you're at it. Chiaki Cantabile...err...Nodame Cantabile - magnetic_rose

10. Don't panic. Accidents can be fortuitous. It may turn you into a slave to a bunch of rich boys, but on the whole, it can turn out pretty fortuitous. Ouran Host Club - astrocigarettes

i. new lows in fangirling
Yes. I have achieved new lows in fangirling. Well, honestly, I'm sure I've gone lower, but right now, none of those memories are surfacing. Why do I say so? If you spend a couple of hours watching something in a language you don't understand and start making up stories along the way, interspersed with fangirly squeeing, I'd say it's pretty bad.

Right now, I'm a happy happy girl, all because I watched Nodame 7 with subs, Nodame 8 without subs, and the SmapXSmap Bistro episode with Ueno Juri and Tamaki Hiroshi, also without subs.

The two Nodame episodes were enough to cheer me up. Thankfully, Eilleen was there to clue me in on some of the things she could catch. Yes, we had another synchro Nodame watching session; she in Finland, I in the Philippines. The wonders of technology and instant messaging.

But what really sent me to fangirl heaven was the Smap x Smap episode. Because it had Tamaki Hiroshi AND Kimura Takuya. They were both smiling. And kidding around. Hiro's dimples were showing. Kimutaku was cooking and doing really cute impersonations. Hiro was really digging into his food, stuffing whole lumps of food into his mouth. He's the sort of person who'll make any cook happy. Sigh. Yes. Another senseless entry, compliments of fangirl kaoko. Can you just imagine how worse it would be if I could actually understand what they were saying? :P

ii. tag, you're it!
I forgot that I was supposed to tag five people for the fictional smex meme from my previous entry.

Anyway, I tag:

Chris, ficsation - She's responded already though.
Jan, squickyclean - Because other than Nightcrawler, I'm not sure of her other selections
Lekimumu, jov
Kacy, the_hierophant
Virna

And a bit of russian roulette, a random me-clicking-on-my profile-page tag to innocentlyjaded, innocentlyjaded.

Of course, anyone else who finds the meme interesting should just go and answer it.

Last thing, if anyone's wondering why I'm now making an href link before the LJ username link, it's just because I have cross-posting on multiply enabled and the lj username links die in transit.

iii. reference book question
Watching tv shows I can't understand is making me want to give self-studying Japanese a shot again. I don't have the time to devote to a regular class, not to mention I can't afford it, but I was thinking of getting a good book and trying to pick it up again.

Despite the price, I was considering getting the Genki I book. Until I looked at it again and realized it's just the book. I mean, I have to pay extra for the workbook, the CDs, and the answer key. Which will add up to costing the same as me taking real lessons.

Anyway, I'm posting just to ask if anybody's familiar with the book, and if so, will it be sufficient to just buy the textbook and not the other stuff? I'm not studying with plans to take JLPTs, I just want to learn a bit for conversation and for anime / drama / manga comprehension.

If it's not a good idea, does anybody have other suggestions on what good books I can use for self-study?

i. morning! oh morning!
It doesn’t take much to move me. Or in this case, make me happy. But what started out as a normal everyday morning is shaping up to be a fantastic day, simply with the addition of one thing I’ve been missing a lot.

A bento! Today, I got up early, cracked open my newest acquisition (a bento box shaped like Hello Kitty’s head) and cooked. There’s something nice about cooking during cold mornings. And having the luxury of sipping a cup of coffee while doing so. Not only do you feel accomplished after having packed a lovely lunch, you get the added benefit of sweating, so taking a cold bath feels so much better afterwards. Unlike when you rush to the bathroom right after you get up. I usually end up staring at the water before facing the music.

Ah, my darling bento. I miss you so. *huggles box* Thanks to Cla (24fps) for bringing her camera to work so I could photograph lunch. At least I’ll finally get to update my food blog (kitchencow).

ii. holiday wish list
*Clears throat* It's that time of year again, hope people who love me enough see this. :D

( Hear Snow White sing 'I'm wishing...' )


iii. fictional schmex meme
Schmex (to quote khursten (khursten) who I got the meme from.) meme!

List down 10 fictional characters that you'd fool around with.
( Do you really want to know how depraved I am? )


iv. soundtrack meme
From Joy (joybur).

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc).
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press play.
4. For every question, type the song that's playing.
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button.
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool.

( Kao's baduy results )

Now that is one screwed up movie.


v. fangirls never make sense
Funny Tamaki Hiroshi convo over YM:

kaoko25: Hiro-chaaaaan. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
kaoko25: Sheht. It's so unfair.
kaoko25: How can one guy be so schmexy?
myrya_sterling: have no idea... but he must be the reason God made man.

i. the seduction type quiz
Stolen from all_talk and onew. Apparently, I stole their results too.

( Midas touch eh? )

ii. song meme from wombatgirl

Go to www.popculturemadness.com .

Select the year you became 18. Paste the list of the top 75 songs. Bold the
ones you liked; strike the ones you disliked; and italicize the ones you know
but don't exactly like nor dislike. The ones you don't know will stay common
text.

Okay. I'm stoopid. I screwed up my Math and did 1998 instead of 1997. My math skills suck.

( Because I'm lazy and don't want to redo it for 1997. )

LIVE TRUMPS 1.1

watch kaoko_cow fight

CREATE YOUR CARD

FIGHT ON!!!

EDIT: Bleargh! I keep losing in ambiguity and sophistication match-ups! Bleargh! (It's quite obvious I'm getting obsessed, hwehwehwe.)

i. tonkatsu bento
Lazy morning = lazy bento. Luckily, I froze the extra tonkatsu patties I made from the last time we had tonkatsu, so it was just a grab from the freezer then fry affair.



( Cut to Full Shot. )

X-posted to bentolunch

ii. fillip it good!
I learned something new today! It appears that the Filipino word pitik translates to fillip!

According to http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=fillip means

A snap or light blow made by pressing a fingertip against the thumb and suddenly releasing it.

!!!

Yes. I am the queen of trivialities.

iii. if i were anime

Another anime meme, this time focusing on characters. I've been meaning to answer this since early this week but work got the better of me. Ganked from ficsation.

( Meme! Give five anime characters that you resemble (looks/personality/etc.) and explain. )

Brought to you by the letter "R"
This is how it works: comment on this entry and I will give you a letter. Write ten words beginning with that letter in your journal, including an explanation what the word means to you and why, and then pass out letters to those who want to play along.

sassy_semplang gave me R!

Reality
Some place I’d rather not visit if I can get away with it.

Recipes
I love recipes, I love cooking, I love food. :D

Retirement
Something I really, really, really look forward to, sooner or later. Better sooner. :P

Rhythm
Something I have no sense of. I honestly can’t sing / dance to save my life.

Rainy Days
I love rainy days. Snuggling under the blankets with a good book. So cliché, yet soooo good.

Reflect
Something I’m really good at, and do at lot, at the cost of my mental stability.

Red
Something I easily see at the slightest provocation.

(Still owe 3 R words. Didn't imagine it would be this difficult.)

nabbed from juspeachie417.

I've lost my...heart. I’m hoping to get it back but Matsujun refuses to give.
People would say that I'm... silly.
Love is... Lonely Prince Tamaki!
Somewhere, someone is... eating otoro. I want to eat also!
I will always... love potato chips.
I never want to... be trapped in a room with colonies of cockroaches.
When I woke up this morning... I was sad because my first thought, other than having to pack, was Nana Manga related.
Life is like... a videoke house. Full of tunes that are out of tune.
My past... is littered with boys I had secret crushes on. Secret because I never managed to get the guts to own up to my emotions.
I get annoyed... at everyone. With just the slightest provocation.
I want to meet... Matsumoto Jun, with the hots for me.
Parties are for... getting wasted.
I wish... I were a shoujo manga character.
My dog... is a stuffed golden retriever called Nibip. John got him for me on our 4th month together.
Kisses are the worst when... they’re garlicky!
Tomorrow I'm going to... partay in Pagudpod!
I really want... a convertible Volkswagen Beetle. In yellow!
I have low tolerance for people who... are inconsiderate.
If I had a million dollars.... buy a yellow convertible Volkswagen Beetle, take a culinary arts course, and go buy lots and lots of books.

Taggy tag tagged by asthenos: Write 20 random facts about yourself, then tag a number of people equal to the number of minutes it takes you to write the facts.

1. I like cows.
2. I like potato chips.
3. I graduated from college a loooong time ago.
4. I like anime.
5. I like manga.
6. I like to read.
7. I lurve Matsujun.
8. I like Kakashi from Naruto.
9. I feel so shallow because of my choice of random facts, but facts are facts and I’m trying to beat my cellphone timer.
10. I have a Pride and Prejudice Mr. Darcy wallpaper on my desktop.
11. Even my screen saver’s pride and prejudice!
12. I have 2 “vessels for holding liquid” at work. An FMA mug for coffee and a yellow vacuum flask for water.
13. The FMA mug usually holds coffee dregs from my morning cup til before I go home. Only time it gets washed before that is when I decide to have an afternoon cup.
14. Which I’ll probably be having after I finish this meme.
15. I have cows on my LJ wallpaper.
16. I have Jack Skellington hanging on my G4 Tower.
17. I have a leopard Anne Geddes baby sleeping on the monitor.
18. And I have a cow as a cellphone holder.
19. I'm broke.
20. And insane.

Hey, 3 minutes. Not bad! Sure I didn’t make sense, but hey, less people to tag. So...I choose you, ficsation, jov, and ruk.

blue_warlock tagged me ages ago, but I never got around to answering. So here it is, finally.

( four things meme, with a few new additions from me )

Come on, we all know we're meme-whores. Some of us are just in denial.

( Have you ever... (ugh, it's not grammatically correct, but I couldn't not put a title) )

Witness the adventures of a diabolical, horny, malevolent cam whore. Visit darthmauled!

I'm a poseur! I'm no big Star Wars fan, but it was a meme, I had to take it. At least I got my favorite character...even if he has only one hand.

( Luke *asthma asthma*... )

Meme taken from blue_warlock:
Take the first sentence (or two) from the first post of each month of 2005. That's your year in review.

( Here's mine )

From partner in crime, joshbeoulve:




Ph34r us, you nefarious Tsukasa-harther you! You are going down today, ficsation. With jov's J-Lo-ness and penchant for getting drunk and stripping during parties and markpoa's ingrown toenails, we shall prevail! *throws sourcream potato chip shurikens, after taking a bite out of each one*

EDIT: snatched from Orlando Bloom's next character, riisha. I wasn't going to post my results, but it was too precious to pass up.




Barney? I swear, this is the universe dishing me my bad karma for elbowing that annoying woman who kept squeezing against me in the jeep last Monday.

( What candy am I? )
Snickers daw. Malagkeeeet!
( Who shares my taste in music? )
Kelly Clarkson. Incidentally, she is on my playlist too. Too bad I can't sing as well as she does.

( What food am i? )
Chinese food? I'm laden with MSG?

( Wacky fortune cookie generator )

( Draco Malfoy? Well call me son of a bloodeater! )

Evil but redeemable. Insecure bully. Closet Harry lover. Hmm...