I dreamt that the Devil cried

For a while now, I've become so easily sunburnt that even a short walk out in the sun will have my face flaming. I wasn't always like this. In fact, just a few years ago, I could stay out in the sun for a good without getting sunburnt; I'd have to be out there for the whole day before anything happened. I don't know exactly what happened to make me so sensitive to the sun, but I did a teensy Google search at some point and it's possibly due to medication use. While I don't remember whether I got very sick a couple of years back when I first noticed my condition, but I wouldn't be surprised if I was. However, I do know for sure that I had to take a bunch of medicine when I was coughing my lungs out for 5+ weeks last year. I probably did almost cough my lungs out then, it was really awful. Cough drop after cough drop, I can't even remember how many bags I had to buy. It got so bad that I even considered waking my friends up in the dead of the night (read: 3AM) to drive me to CVS for something stronger. Those couple of weeks really wreaked havoc on my system. Hmm... getting sidetracked here.

So today I was out in the sun for a little while again, but I guess it wasn't that short of a while because I was out there for some 40 minutes. Predictably, I got a sunburn, which is absolutely stupid since I always carry around sunblock with me now. Why I don't apply it when I know I'll be out? It's probably because I think that I'll only out there for a time shorter than it takes for me to get sunburnt. That's a dangerous way of thinking right there. I really ought to get into the habit of applying sunblock on whether I think it will take only 10 minutes or 60 minutes to do what I need to in the sun. When I was back at home with my face flaming and my body feeling uncomfortable overall (I was wondering if I had sun poisoning... perhaps that's a bit over the top), the idea hit me that I should ease my sunburn with some cold milk. Well, that's not entirely true... the idea didn't just hit me, I was drinking a cup of milk while eating dessert then. Sometimes, you come up with an idea that you think might work, but you brace yourself for disappointment anyways, this was kind of the case here. Imagine my surprise when I felt instantly better! After two applications of milk directly to my face, I would say that the discomfort was reduced some 80% or more. It was great, that's why I had to post about it. I did some research online after thinking about how well this worked and found that it's a pretty common recommendation for sunburns, as is oatmeal. I just this that this is a good and convenient solution since most people have milk but may not have oatmeal or aloe vera at home most of the time. The one downside is that milk is stinky when it dries, haha.

I should just take better care of myself to prevent sunburns... instead of dealing with them when they come. Sigh.

S. Out!

Here's a common computer issue that I run into every now and then: I'll start up my computer like every other day, but today something feels off. A little bit of looking around and I notice that my taskbar is missing some icons. The stinky thing is that even when I reboot my computer a couple of times, which is typically my number one go to fix for computer problems, the icons did not come. And no, going under the notification tab of taskbar properties would not help since the option to turn on the missing icons is deactivated or greyed out.

I figured that instead of looking up how to fix it online every time this happens, and hoping that I find thearticle that I referred to the very first time, that I should just make a post about it. Certainly, I could just link this post to the article that I found, but... typing it out would probably be better for learning and remembering the process :b

In any case, the fix I found comes from this article: http://www.howtogeek.com/forum/top…. And the process goes a little something like this:

1. Go to Start > Run and type in regedit
2. Navigate to the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify
3. Delete the values "IconStreams" and "PastIconsStream"
4. Open up Task Manager
5. End process explorer.exe... and don't worry, it's perfectly normal that everything disappears!
6. Restart the process by going to File > New Task (Run...) and typing in explorer.exe
7. Open up Taskbar Properties and select the tray icons that you want under the Notification Area tab
8. All is well again :D

This is the process I go through every time, but... it would be nice to know why this keeps happening. Oh well...

S. Out!

So some of us may have noticed that the 12/12/12 12:12:12 is coming up pretty soon. Certainly that is interesting and at first I did not know whether to take this opportunity to post something at that moment. I know plenty people are doing it, but as I thought about it more, I did not want to be tied down to such an event. I guess you can say that's why I thought of an excuse not to make a big deal out of the occassion. What I want to say is that every moment is special. Aside from cheating and travelling to some other time zone, when will you ever get another day, hour, minute, second that is the same as this one? Never. Certainly I do not know whether this statement is false when you consider the physics of it and everything, but I'm a simple person. I just trying to say that while some people are sitting there waiting for that special time to arrive, they're letting all these other precious seconds of their lives go to waste. Why not make the most out of every moment? As I say this however, I do find myself compelled to stare at the clock on my computer screen... and indeed I did see the time reach 12/12/12 12:12:12. Despite this hipocracy, I just want to remind myself and others out there not to waste time. I certainly should not be, I have two finals tomorrow morning. Anyway, I'll be going now, have some studying to do. Haha. Bye bye, folks!

Hmm.. it sure got cold rather quickly. At the beginning of this month, I was asking "Why is it hot when it's November?" Now I realize here we have things known as the Indian summer, so normally I'm not surprised when I come back to school in late September and it's hotter than the so called summer I just lived through. But c'mon, November is two months after September (yea, yea, it's only one month after late September). If you couldn't tell, I don't really like hot weather so much. And don't get me wrong, I do like nice weather, just not hot weather... although my threshold for "hot weather" is rather low, somewhere around high 70s. In any case, after about two weeks of on and off rains, it's suddenly as if we were flash frozen. The weather has become truly winter-like. Those clear skies where you can see the stars shining brightly and as you gasp at the beauty of it all, you can see your breath in the cold night air. That's what I really love about this time of the year. So while everyone is saying that they'll miss the warm weather, I'm rejoicing because this is such a beautiful season.

Where I live, winters never really become unbearably cold. You'll hear everyone complain about how cold it is, but no, it will not snow here and we don't not need to wear ski jackets. We're just weaklings, but hey, this is all we know and I'm grateful for it. It also gives me an excuse to use my newly acquired Winter Twig icon. It's just so appropriate, haha. I cannot wait for the holiday season to roll around. I want to celebrate Thanksgiving with my friends down at school like we have done the past three years. I want to go home for the Christmas holiday, see all the decorations, and just be in the company of those that I love.

On a completely different note, yesterday while listening to "One More Night" by Maroon 5, images of Skip Beat! suddenly crept into my mind. Somehow I cannot help but feel a connection between the King of the Night Tsuruga and this song; I kept imagining how hard he tries to contain his wild side, to stop himself from making Kyoko his prey. Honestly, only part of the song's lyrics fit that sort of imagery, but I think the voice of the singer and the tune really brings out those sorts of feelings (about Skip Beat!) in me.

Alright, now I really have taken too long of a break from my homework. I'll be back another day to post some more. Bye!

[edit] 10:46p It's really crazy, but when I listen to the song, I find myself smirking or slightly laughing rather often. It must be because of the connection between the song and Skip Beat! that I find so amusing. What a weird girl.

Woke up kind of early today, to do some extra studying for my corporate taxation midterm. I think it went pretty well; I had been studying for it days before. I'm not quite the last minute studying type of student - I would feel too intense a sense of panic. The studying this morning was more of an attempt to organize the information I learned into useful groups.

In any case, for that reason, I'm quite sleepy right now. I wanted to do more tonight. Finally getting some free time, I wanted to do that extra credit problem for my game theory class, but it proved too difficult even with some guidance. Additionally, I was hoping to rewrite some of my notes since I have been taking them down on loose papers. Wasn't able to however, my eyes are too droopy and I can't bring myself to decode the things I wrote down. Thinking perhaps I can sleep a little earlier tonight (and by earlier, I mean not at 2a or 3a), that way I could wake up earlier tomorrow and do something productive. I should review for the Japanese placement exam I want to take, because if all goes according to plan, the assessment should take place tomorrow afternoon.

Hmm... didn't write anything interesting or include any pretty pictures today. Sorry about that! I'm just trying to get back into the habit of blogging again. Also, I was thinking that if I could describe what sort of student I was and how my mind works, it will be interesting to look back and see how I've changed in that sense since.

I had the sudden urge to write something in my livejournal, so I came by only to find that I didn't have the right icon to convey my general mood at the moment. This seems to happen a lot, mainly due to the reason that I could not part from my old icons; most of them were remnants from my kpop fangirl days. I finally managed to clear some away to make room for new icons that are more reflective of myself... in one way or another. That is not to say that I don't like kpop anymore, but as with jpop, I have taken a much more relaxed approach to the whole thing. Perhaps from now on, when I do happen to upload a new icon, I should give a short description as to why I chose it. Let's try that:




[Chobits] Crisp by amarylis: I think the reason I chose this icon is mainly due to the coloring; its so beautiful and green. It makes me feel so refreshed, but I guess also a little bit stuffy at the same time since I believe the artist was trying to portray summer. Hmm... while I don't believe I'll find myself in Chi's situation (sitting there in a beautiful place looking beautiful) I'm certain there will be days when it's beautiful outside, green and lush and I just admire that so much.

[XXXholic] Content by wistful_icons: As of late, I find myself gravitating towards these sorts of animanga icons, less wispy and delicate, more silly and simple. You can see this in my decision to make the [Kobato] Rush icon my default and the next icon I will describe, [Kobato] どうするの？For me, this icon is meant to convey my feelings of satisfaction and contentment. While I don't really know how often I'll use this icon because I don't really write journal entries when I'm exactly content, I added it anyways. Maybe I will be writing more, and this icon would become more fitting for me.

[Kobato] どうするの？ by wistful_icons: Firstly, どうするの？ translates to "what should I do?" I included it to help fit those situations when I want to post an entry by I feel lost or panicked. Again, I don't know how often I would come here to do that... But hey, looking carefully at the icon, I guess you could argue that Kobato just looks exhausted and perhaps I'll use it during those times as well. Kobato is so expressive, haha.

[Nature] Fiery Tree by colorvary: Hmm... I have a feeling that the reason for this icon is heavily influenced by the weather. It's autumn here, but the weather is still pretty warm. However, it's possible that there is more to that. I love the colors that this artist uses in nearly all her works; she can take a simple image and just make it pop! Additionally, the glowing of the tree feels so powerful and invigorating. I think I'll be likely to use this icon when I feel full energy.

[Nature] Winter Twig by colorvary: I'm pretty sure that's not what most people would call a twig, but it felt right to me. I chose this icon in anticipation of the winter months, the wet and chill. What I really like about the icon is that it makes me feel so at peace. The blues are obviously there, but they're supported by greens and pinks in the background and it just makes me feel like winter is coming. I honestly have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to art, but I still understand what kind of feelings I have, so please forgive my lame descriptions. Ahh... the ice sitting on the twig is rather calming even as I look at it now.

Well, this certainly turned out to be a lengthy post (for me). While my original intention for posting was lost, it's alright because I ended doing something I liked anyways. Hopefully, I will come back to post again soon, it seems to be the trend nowadays. I do have readings, midterms and homework to deal with this week however, so we'll have to see when the next time will be. See you next time!

You know what brought back onto livejournal tonight? w-inds.! I think it's a beautiful feeling. Back in high school, I transformed into a complete fangirl after watching a video clip of w-inds. on youtube. I don't remember what video it was exactly, but I remember wanting to find as much as I possibly could on this group. Of the many searches I made, something indicated that feel_the_fate would be the go-to place for all things w-inds. Of course, at the time I was also very into networking and making friends with everyone friendly and interesting on the interwebz, so an open community on livejournal that would allow me to indulge in two things at once. I really was addicted to w-inds. and livejournal back then; even though school started at 7:30a I would check livejournal and even write a short post before heading out. Talk about dedicated. Obviously... this is not quite the case anymore.

The story begins like this: once or twice in the past few months, I've caught myself singing "キレイだ" in my head. At the beginning I only remembered the tune; I couldn't recall what the name of the song was...

I'm sleepy... I think I will continue this post another time. Bye!

Hopefully, this post will be much more upbeat than the last one :)

It's nearing the end of the 2nd quarter of the 3rd year. I'm done with all of my midterms so only finals remain. I'm not too nervous about it, but that does not mean I haven't already started studying. However, I have been giving myself time to make some yummy dishes as always. I'm grateful that I have the time to keep up with my classes and cooking. Cooking is really enjoyable. Today, I made potstickers. Mind you, this is only my second time making potstickers and the first time turned out pretty nicely as well. Today's attempt at potstickers however, resembled the ones my momma make; it's got shrimp, boston roast, and cabbage in it. I made about 30 of them, but I don't really plan to eat them any time soon. That's probably because my momma does the same at home, she makes so many and stores them all in the freezer. I don't have much freezer space here though... ^_____^;;

Erp... It's dinner time. I might come back to continue this later~! じゃ　まった！

Hello! First post of 2012 I believe? Oh how wrong I was... I already posted back in those days far, far away. Well, no. It was just the beginning of the quarter, when I had very little work, so every morning gave me a charge of energy that I had nothing to dispense into. (What am I writing, haha...)

So, what got me onto livejournal this time? Basically, my apartment mate reading through her xanga got me looking at mine, which reminded me, I still have a livejournal. That I still write in! Amazing... I really do like my xanga though. I don't want to take it down, but it feels strange to write in xanga when I have a perfectly updated livejournal here. I wonder what got me to switch from xanga, to myspace, to livejournal in the first place... Actually, I do know what happened. Myspace was because the バカレンジャ's were communicating on them or maybe it was the music. Livejournal was because of w-inds. and the feel_the_fate community that I needed access. And now most of that is gone, but I still like to just write in my livejournal like a diary.

Oh yeah, so I was going to write about the year so far... but truth be told, I don't really feel like it. In fact, nothing has really happened so far (except SOPA, PIPA and ACTA).

Tonight's post really has an ugly feel to it, but be it good or bad, I will let it be posted. Sometimes, you just gotta write and not think; this post is a product of that process. Signing off.

i think my mood is very much influenced by the weather. i wake up and see rays of sunlight spilling through my shades and i feel wonderful. but when the sunlight goes and the clouds roll in, i feel so disappointed. seeing that beautiful sunlight, i feel like i can do it all. it makes me want to go to the beach, but it's winter. i makes me want to explore a national park, but there are none nearby and i have school. i really ought to step out and at least absorb some of the sun's rays, but... as is common with people nowadays, i will just sit inside all day in front of my computer.

perhaps this is just an excuse, but... i think that despite beauty outside, i don't actually go out because i can't go with him. well, that's part of the reason i believe. i don't want to miss out on spending time with him. i don't like that i can't share the experience with him. truthfully, i'm tying myself down. i really should be doing those things i love, even if it's on my own. he would encourage it; he understands that we don't have to spend every waking moment together. and yet... i still insist on sitting around unproductively while waiting for him (that's part laziness of course).

i need to do something with my life!