So I'm running a bit lot behind schedule, but I finally got my survey for my dissertation up!

Click Here to Take It!

If you've seen some/all of BBC Sherlock, or if you're at all involved in the fandom, then I want your input, please! (You can still fill it out if neither of those apply to you, of course, but there won't be many questions.) It should take you about 20 minutes. There's no personal information required, any question can be skipped (after the consent agreement), and there are no series three spoilers. There's more information when you follow the link, too.

I'm adding a Livejournal repost option to this entry, and you can also reblog this post on my tumblr for a signal boost if you'd like. And thanks to everyone who helps out with this!

• Finished my Survey of American Literature class – it was a very engaging and fascinating course, and we just had the final exam on Melville, Emerson and Whitman, all very different yet similar writers and poets. The exam itself was brutal, but I fared better than I expected.

• Maddie’s wrist has been incapacitated for a while, so we went to a doctor and found that she has a temporary Carpal Tunnel syndrome, so she has to wear a brace for a few days until it gets better. It has been a few days, so we’re expecting good news soon.

• Going to start the Art Appreciation class this week, which is another requirement for my English major and I have a feeling that this class will be interesting as well. It’s just going to be another five weeks, just like the last one. I feel like I need a vacation, even though I’m on summer vacation :/

• I finally went swimming after such a long time and it was truly glorious! Especially in this recent hot weather, the water is quite refreshing. Going to the local workout place and swimming in the outdoor definitely was worth it after a day of class at the time. I’ve always been a water baby (I guess it goes with the Cancerian/Moonchild territory) and it has been wonderful to swim. To be able to submerge myself completely and rise to the surface, experience a feeling of complete solidarity. To tread in deep waters and be freed. To escape everyone and everything. If only.

• Worked my butt off going through clothes and straightening the house for the grandparents, and I was so exhausted afterwards – just sore all over DX

• Finished rewatching Shikabane Hime, and while it still was a fun ride and an emotional roller-coaster, it still felt like it had no conclusion, and where the main threat was still at large, albeit incapacitated. Still left me with a lot of questions, but I liked it just the same.

• Rewatching the Battle City arc in Yu-Gi-Oh! from the very beginning made me remember why I fell in love with the series in the first place.

• Welcome mac_arthur_park – I look forward to getting to know you. My intro post is here.

• Survey of American Literature is now reading on essays and poetry of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman – I have to say that they both have been quite fascinating concerning individualism and how nature becomes a part of that. Also, Moby Dick has to be the most layered and complex story that I have read in a while, as it really knows how to portray monomania, drive, and obsession and how pride can be one’s downfall, all for the pursuit of the answers to the unanswerable. And this class will conclude this week with an exam. I have to say that this class was quite thought-provoking and very informative.

• I had a dentist appointment just recently, where I thought I was going to have a wisdom tooth removed, but it turns out that I’ll need all of my four wisdom teeth out and fillings for some unfortunate cavities. I had to try not to retch my guts out when the two nurses were taking x-rays of my teeth, and just when I had enough bad luck with my teeth. :/

• Because of a massive storm, the power was out in my neighborhood for 14 hours. It was almost like living in the Dark Ages. And the funny thing is that, the storm only lasted for 5 minutes, but the damage was bad enough to cut off power in the vicinity. Thankfully, the power has now come back on!

• Finished rewatching Blood-C, and yes I remember it as truly a mindfuck of an anime, especially for a CLAMP anime. It is definitely a ‘Your Mileage May Vary’ type of anime, as some will hate it and some will like it. I just may be in the minority that likes it, in all craziness and mindfuckery with the convoluted bloodshed. I did find myself more entertained the second time around, and I really sympathized with Saya, whose innocence and insecurities are soon shattered by what happens in the last two episodes. Aaaaand I also despise Fumito. Personally I enjoyed Blood-C, but for those who are squeamish, consider yourselves warned. Next up, Shikabane Hime...

• Welcome obnoxygen, spaciireth, rubyelf, fictionary, eidna, skindyedindigo, takatsukishiori, thekaiserchief, and nowiamsix – I look forward to getting to know you all more. My intro post is here.

• The summer class I’m taking, Survey of American Literature, has been both enlightening and intense nowadays. Finished reading The Scarlet Letter and yup, there was some pretty heavy stuff there, about sin, guilt, redemption, and the human condition. It really got me thinking if some actions of others can do more harm than good even when one tries to help another person out, and that anyone can be capable of anything. And the class had its midterm, and boy was it intense, with questions mostly made up what we learned from the daily lectures and what we read from the books, but I think I managed all right.

• I’ve been experiencing some bad anxiety issues lately, which I thought I’d sealed up for the most part. With straightening up the apartment and summer classes, I almost cannot take anything to do with chores and errands, just feeling tense and shaky all over, and I would need to calm down for a while.

• Just a day ago, I singlehandedly cleaned and washed my aunt’s porch before she came back from a week-long vacation, because there was an accumulation of pollen and dust. I had my grandma and Maddie help me with the porch as well, but I took care of most of the work, so when I got home, I was exhausted X_x;

• Along with anime, I’ve been rewatching Adventures from the Book of Virtues and also Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat. I guess I know where exactly I got my fascination with mythology, folklore, classics, culture studies, and philosophy.

• This was a really fun and scary episode, in more ways than one. Starscream and Knock Out are really awesome together, even when screwing up. Sure they’ll sell each other out and they’ll bitch/snipe at each other but they at least seem to respect each other on some level, which is more than he gets from anyone else on the ship. Knock Out, you are such a sadistic yet vastly hilarious character. Seeing Zombie!Silasdown admittedly made me yelp when it first showed up in the episode X_x; Oh sweet Jesus, Airachnid's back! I just may be in the minority that can't help but like her, and that ending, that ending!!!

• Finished rewatching Princess Jellyfish and I love it just as much as the first time. The characters are all really well written, the main character Tsukimi is a nerd who doesn’t get ‘cured’ from her dorkiness at the end, and it really does get deep for a comedy series. Next up for anime marathons, a rewatch of Blood-C is in order.

Reposted from subluxate

The Congressional Budget Office recently released a report showing that the deficit "will shrink this year to $642 billion, CBO estimates, the smallest shortfall since 2008. Relative to the size of the economy, the deficit this year—at 4.0 percent of gross domestic product (GDP)—will be less than half as large as the shortfall in 2009, which was 10.1 percent of GDP"

And the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation has released a report showing that more Social Security recipients are living in poverty than previously estimated released a report showing that more Social Security recipients are living in poverty than previously estimated (being on Social Security myself, and knowing just what it does and doesn't cover, I am *not* surprised -- if you have significant medical needs, it doesn't even begin to cover the costs.)

Given these facts, I would deeply appreciate you taking a moment to sign this petition to support "The Strengthening Social Security Act of 2013."

"By making millionaires and billionaires pay the same rate of Social Security taxes as the rest of us, and by changing the method by which Social Security benefits are calculated, Sen. Harkin's bill would expand Social Security benefits by an average of $800 per recipient per year while also keeping the program solvent for several generations."

http://campaigns.dailykos.com/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=412&tag=

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Public, please feel free to repost.

→ I recently started the summer class and it’s going pretty well so far – I'm taking another summer class for the first 5 weeks and the class is called Survey of American Literature, and it centers around such literature like Moby Dick, The Scarlet Letter and so on. We’ll also look at other works that have set the course of the philosophical and socio-economic path and commentary of American literature in different time periods and today. It starts at 10:20 am, but at least it’s better than 8:50 am, and Maddie’s taking a Spanish class around the same time as my class, so it’s pretty good for the summer.

→ As much as I want to write fic, I’m afraid that the summer classes will make it a bit difficult and a bout of writer’s block has planted its roots near the usual threshold of ideas. Until I get some ideas or when inspiration works its magic, it will take a backseat for a while.

→ The grandparents have been very swell and it’s so good to be home, even with all the unpacking and tidying up from the said unpacking. At least that labour is done and I can concentrate on the summer classes.

→ Transformers Prime, how I have missed you so.... Well, the most recent episode was fantastic - well paced, some good character development and the season just keeps getting better and better. The wait for the next episode is just excruciating! And the new opening is just kickass :D

→ Going to start a rewatch of Fractale, followed by Princess Jellyfish, and Blood-C, and hopefully with a little rewatch of Yu-Gi-Oh! sooner rather than never.

→ Finals week is officially over and I took care of all my final exams! I also found out that I passed my JPN II class and I am just so relieved and happy. Finals are over. It’s out of my hands now. There is nothing more I can do. And thank you all so very much for all of your encouraging words!

→ Hello new LJ friends sakuraberries, author_by_night, secondmezzanine, majesticarky, and waltzingalong and welcome! I look forward to getting to know you more – here is my intro post.

→ I have had a wonderful 3 days. I've hardly had any really bad feelings. I've been at the least very content. I actually kind of socialized last night and the previous nights before, so that was lovely. Sometimes when I have been around people all day, I really just need to shut myself into a room and just be alone with my music. Being social can be incredibly physically and mentally draining.

The last week of classes was unexpectedly calm, and strangely cathartic. It may seem like small potatoes, but there are a ton of people in my senior class that I’m going to miss terribly. Be they hall mates, actors in plays and musicals, dancers, biology majors, what have you – a lot of them really put up with me and inspired me to be a better person.

→ A week ago, before finals week showed up, there was a dance at our college, which we call a Cotillion; I decided that I wanted to go, and I went to it. I had to take a shower and prep two hours beforehand, but that was small potatoes compared to the event. It was amazing! It was an outside event and the wind was a bit freezing, but overall I had a great time with Maddie and some friends, dancing on the dance floor and socializing a bit under the night sky. I even got complimented on my outfit :D

→ Have gotten a lot of packing done with the dorm almost empty for the summer, and it has really been a tough job, but it has definitely been worth it, not having to leave it to the last minute. Now I’ll be back home soon with the grandparents – it’ll be nice to see them on a regular basis again.

→ Mother’s Day as a whole was pretty low-key. I spent most of the day packing up the dorm, which wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be – still a pain in the butt. Being back with my family will be worth it though. I talked to my aunt and my grandma at length over the phone, and that was nice.

→ Pretty excited and a bit nervous for the summer school class, but it could be a lot of fun – it is an Art Appreciation class, after all. I went to a counseling session a couple of days ago, and overall it went really well, the counselor, Rebecca, was really nice and wanted to know how I was doing and when I told her about realizing that classes were over and having taken care of finals, she said that I was very good at making decisions and have a very disciplined mind. Totally blew my mind. I’m really happy I learned it and I’m glad I went. :)

→ Now I will be able to watch Transformers: Prime, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, Adventure Time, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Soul Eater after all!!

( TW for anxiety.... )

→ On the bright side, Maddie got accepted in Alpha Psi Omega, the theatre honor society on our campus and just performed in a 10 minute play just this past weekend. She was really great and she acted in three out of the 5 plays in the performance, with lines and everything. She even got to play a fairy with wings *^^* I can’t help but be proud. :D

→ Watched the newest episode of Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters and I really liked it.

While it wasn't as earth-shattering as last week’s, I still enjoyed it. The animation really steals the show because bow that the Autobots are on the move, the animators are using different backgrounds and they are just gorgeous. My favorites include the cornfield as well as the sunset that engulfs Arcee and Jack, the flower garden where Miko and Bulkhead were residing, and some of the forestry surrounding it. On another note, oh Optimus, just hang in there, honey! And poor Ratchet! ;_;

→ Got accepted into a specialty dorm that features on international studies and multicultural activities, but I’m still in the dark about the results of re-applying to the current dorm I've been residing in this past year.

→ At least in my JPN II class, I can make a PowerPoint presentation about CLAMP, and the requirement is about information on the Japanese culture, sooo… :D

→ Happy belated Easter~!!!

Hope everything is fine with you all.

Reposted from myrrhmade

Mr. Gorgeous Micah Cat needs a home.

Spread the word and give this kitty cat the loving home that he deserves.