Place of Zen

Nice timing!

2008-07-04T00:45:41Z

I came on this morning to find that my Lina application for kunpuu had been accepted. Whee! She's already destroyed a computer. 8D

I've decided to try and get my mom to go out on walks with me. She and my dad used to walk yeeeaaars ago (I wouldn't go with them because they went too fast D:) but Dad is now lazy and grumpy and I'm getting sick of listening to them snipe at each other. So last night we just went up to Avondale for ice cream, and tonight we went around to Shoppers to pick up a prescription, and we took a look around the pet store just for fun. They had a couple really playful ferrets. The girl working there was one of my high school classmates, but it didn't seem like she recognized me even after I said hello. Oh well~

stolen from pacchiri

2008-06-29T23:06:52Z

1. Reply to this post and I'll assign you a letter.
2. List (and upload, if you feel like it) 5 songs that start with that letter.
3. Post them to your journal with these instructions.

My letter is "L"! That one's sure popular with me. XD

1) The Look of that Day - Tales of the Abyss OST
The theme during the ending credits, and it's pretty beautiful. You also get to see sketches of all the main characters as kids!
2) Labyrinth of Fortune - Radiata Stories OST
The BGM for the scenes before the final boss fight...so of course it's organ music. XD
3) Last Battle - Xenosaga Episode I OST
The only battle in the game with different music~ For the final boss. I'm starting to sense a theme here (other than L XD).
4) Legendary Sword~Loop Version - Radiata Stories
And again. Theme for final boss on nonhuman path.
5) Lord of Nightmares~Yellow Satan - Slayers NEXT Sound Bible
Seriously, "L" wouldn't forgive me if I skipped this one. :P From the last episode of NEXT.

...I love how I have no actual songs for this letter. Oh well. XD

zenavvy @ 2008-06-25T12:42:00

2008-06-25T16:49:54Z

Went out for ice cream last night with Zedka and la_menthe~ We also popped into Chapters where I decided to use up my gift cards, since they had a "buy 3 books, get a fourth free" special on. I grabbed the first volume of the D. Gray-Man manga, as well as two more Discworld novels, and I also got the Subtle Knife...though $18 for a paperback is such a ripoff. XP

I wish it was cool enough that I could try out a recipe I found for lemon cupcakes, but in the meantime, I've got a recipe for a key lime pie. I would just have to buy a graham cracker crust since I can't bake my own right now.

I ate an apple bigger than my fist today. It was really filling. XD

zenavvy @ 2008-06-21T13:23:00

2008-06-21T17:29:11Z

My room has undergone transformation! Over the last couple days, we changed it from this to this. Clearly my cat approves! ^_^ I even got a new computer desk! Also, it seems relatively neat and organized...until you look at my dresser, where all my homeless stuff is currently piled. It's pretty cool though, and there's definitely a big height difference between the old bed and the new bed. There's also now a lot more echo in here~ XD

Mehehe, I've been browsing for chocolate truffle recipes~♥

Today's story: Peanut butter cookies cleverly disguise themselves with oats.

2008-06-18T18:56:58Z

I got out of bed this morning to find the mixer back on the counter, so I was quite happy to make quick use of it...except I had to run to the store because we only had salted butter, but I got myself some unsalted and it worked out.

Strangely enough, there was a chunk of stale bread in the brown sugar. At first I thought, "that's some strange looking sugar..." before realizing. I'm not sure I want to know how it got there. ^^;

But all things considered, the cookies turned out very good~ They were supposed to be drizzled with chocolate, but ~~I couldn't be bothered~~ they already had chocolate chips in them, so I decided to skip that. I posted the recipe for anyone who wants to try it! I think the peanut butter is a great addition. ♥

zenavvy @ 2008-06-17T19:02:00

2008-06-17T23:08:38Z

Huh, so it's actually cool out today, the air conditioning is off--perfect time to bake cookies! ...But my sister took the mixer the other day. D: I suppose I'll see if she's home and finished with it, because these oatmeal cookies sound good, and we've got a ton of oats to use up from my grandma's house. Either today or tomorrow will probably be the only cool enough days, and I want to take every chance I can get.

I do love this recipe book, though. ♥

Making a post before the thunderstorms roll in again~

2008-06-16T15:28:24Z

So, it's been storming almost every night, but that's not really a bad thing. I can survive with the computer and the TV off. ;) Although my flist really fills up when I'm away for a day.

I've already read through all the Slayers manga I bought at the con, and I just loved the Special series. If only there had been more of those! The Super-Explosive Demon Story manga had its entertaining moments, but I didn't care for it as much. That's probably just because it's going through the same story again from the novels and anime, with just a few different things.

Mostly I've been trying to get my room cleaned up, because as much fun as my loft bed is (and great for space), I'm downsizing to a regular bed. My biggest motivation is actually so the cat can get on there with me. XD But in the meantime there's a lot of stuff I have to shift around, so I've finally been getting rid of lots of junk--including a printer I had in here that doesn't even work. I'm mostly done, but I still have a mess...but then again, I only have a single room to stuff all my junk, so it's no wonder.

I think tonight I'm going to try making a lemon strawberry variation of that lime mousse~

This baker has triumphed over the air conditioning today...

2008-06-10T18:52:54Z

A coworker was making Amish friendship bread--a dough she mixed up and then divides and gives to friends. She knew I liked to bake, so she gave me one of the portions, which had to be baked today. Luckily for me it was slightly cooler today, so after some drama, my dad said I might as well just bake it here (though I said I would do it at my sister's house, oh well). I haven't eaten any yet since it just came out the oven, but it smells delicious. ♥ I was just in heaven while it was baking and the scent of cinnamon was wafting through the house.

Though la_menthe's parents don't mind if I bake over at their house even on the hottest of days. XD So last week, we, along with Zedka, made S'more sandwich cookies, and they turned out delicious. Even the plain cookies without the marshmallows would be sooo tasty.

Err, so I've kind of been MIA for a while, but mostly because I've just left my computer off lately. I was using it very little so I figured it was a waste to just have it on all day, and since it takes forever to boot up (I can come back two hours later and it'll still be chugging away doing...something XP), I decided it was just easier to not turn it on at all. I've mostly been amusing myself with Xenosaga III. HaKox is one of my favourite minigames ever! ...Though I think I need a new controller, because mine is actually kind of oversensitive. HaKox is already a puzzle game; I don't need to be diverting extra attention to controlling the camera. ^^;

...I bought a bagful of candy yesterday: three chocolate bars, one package of Pez (clearout! :D), a bag of Rockets, and some of those sour Juicy Squirts I'd been wanting to try (regular ones are better, though). I also found out that we would be getting a cooler at our Shoppers for individual ice creams. Eeeeexcellent.

Home on...the corner!

2008-05-28T18:13:27Z

So I actually got home yesterday around noon, but I was quickly becoming too woozy from my Gravol to really think about making a post. But now I am more or less alert and awake, so I can talk about the trip. ^^

The hotel that secondlina chose for us was really nice. The rooms were clean and there was plenty of space for us, and we got free breakfast which was good too. Good choice! We spent a lot of time walking along Bloor street, and there were so many places to go there. I wish I had places like that in walking distance. But anyways, we visited some really good bookstores, like the Labyrinth, and we also ate out a lot. ^^ The food was inexpensive but really good, too. We went back to one Asian restaurant on Yonge and Charles, "Zyng", a couple times. I loved their spiced Chai tea, and their Pad Thai was good too, but way too spicy for me to handle. ^^; We also went to a really good Japanese place on Bloor called Teppanyaki Sushi. I don't like sushi, but they had plenty of other things, and the food was both excellent and really cheap. They had a special of two sushi, sashimi, makimono, or appetizers for $6.99, and it came with salad, rice, and miso soup. I was actually surprised that I liked the soup, because I've tried some before from a different place and didn't like it. But including drink, my bill for that place was under $10, and you can't really ask for better with food that good, too! We also visited a couple different Japanese stores to buy Pocky and other treats, naturally. ^^

So, moving away from food, we went to the convention on Friday and Saturday. It was really neat to see all the cosplayers, and we visited the Dealer's Room a couple times (since we didn't get to see everything the first time), as well as Artist's Alley and the flea market. I took a lot of pictures, which I'll post once I get them onto Photobucket. ^^

My purchases from the con were almost all Slayers-related: dqbunny pointed out the Slayers Medieval Mayhem manga for $5 to me in the Dealer's Room, as well as a package of the first three volumes of the Super-Explosive Demon Story and three volumes of Slayers Special, all for $20, as well as a fourth Slayers Special for $5. At the flea market, I nabbed the Slayers Premium manga--which I read and decided that I liked it quite a bit better than the movie--for $5, as well as the Slayers Return movie for $10, so I now have a legal copy. XD;; Back in the Dealer's Room the next day, I found a Martian Successor Nadesico boxset for $32, so I grabbed that, and although I looked at lots of merchandise and artwork, I didn't buy anything else at the con.

I also didn't buy anything from the Labyrinth books the first time, because it was before the con and I wanted to see what I'd be able to get there, but the second time I decided to try out the first manga volumes of Fullmetal Alchemist and Chrono Crusade. I wanted to get the first volume of D. Gray-Man too (I hadn't realized the manga had been released over here!), but it was gone the second time. We did go to Chapters as well, where I made my non-anime-or-manga-related purchases. I decided to try out the first Discworld novel, and I bought the volume of Shannara that I was missing. Needless to say, my suitcase was a lot heavier on the return trip. XD;

All in all, I had a great time. I keep getting asked if my friends met my expectations, but I already knew that talking to someone in person is a lot different than typing out words and looking at icons, so I actually just didn't really build any expectations. I knew that I would find out when I met everyone, and I was really glad that I got to see you all. ^__^ Everyone is really friendly, I had a wonderful time and made some great new friends, and it would be awesome if we can do it again one day!

My only complaints? One being that anytime we traveled by car, subway, or bus, I got really bad cases of motion sickness, with the only exception being the ride home. Life Brand Anti-Nauseant and Natural Source Gravol just don't really do it for me, I guess. ^^;; But that's pretty normal for me, so it's not a big thing. The other: We didn't get to see enough of earthstar_chan! ;) Next time we'll definitely have to stay in the same hotel.

I hope everyone made it home safely! I'll work on getting my pictures up soon!

zenavvy @ 2008-05-19T14:33:00

2008-05-19T18:46:24Z

Two more days~!

I don't have to work today ~~though they called me in and I said no~~ so I'm really feeling the excitement now. Debbie was even nice enough to switch shifts with me on Tuesday so now I'll just have to work 5-10 instead of 4-12.

I also just finished making cookies! earthstar_chan said she might make chocolate cookies, so I skipped over any chocolate recipes while looking for something so that we could have a variety of things. ^^ And I went with gingersnaps! It's the second time I've tried making them, and this recipe turned out much better than the last one, so I'm quite happy. I'd definitely make these again, though maybe do a couple things differently. First, I think it could use more ginger. XD Second, I replaced a little of the molasses with corn syrup since every time I've used it in the past, I always ended up with way too strong of a molasses flavour. But after tasting the cookies, I think using the whole 1/4 cup would be fine. So I've got at least a dozen of them packed into a container, which will leave several at home for the family to munch on, too.

I'm planning on starting to pack today so I can make sure I have everything ready. I should definitely bring a warm jacket since it's been sort of cold the past couple of days.

Oh, and I bought some English muffins on Friday, which I must remember to take out of the freezer tomorrow so we can have them for lunch on Wednesday. Maybe I could make some fruit smoothies or something, too.

I can't wait until Wednesday! I almost can't believe how close it is. ^__^

Mission Complete!

2008-05-15T19:02:33Z

Candy has been acquired! We went over to the chocolate shop today so I could get some for the trip. They didn't have any chocolate bombs, so I got espresso bombs instead...which are really just chocolate bombs with an espresso bean stuck to the top of each one, so that's all right. XD I also got some chocolate truffles and a couple peanut butter cups. Now I should probably make a list so I don't forget about anything.

I foresee sleepiness in my future. I worked until midnight last night, then I get to do the same tonight, Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday. I should've booked off the 20th too, but oh well. I'll just have to make sure I get my things together tomorrow or Monday.

zenavvy @ 2008-05-12T12:30:00

2008-05-12T16:32:18Z

Happy birthday amelia_seyroon and staroceanss~!

I may be 19, but my body feels...90?

2008-05-09T17:17:45Z

On Monday, I played some racketball (racquetball?) with Zedka and la_menthe--and it was an awesome time, except that I'm somewhat of a stranger to physical activity and so the next day I was staggering around like C3P0 about to keel over (or maybe KOS-MOS or an AGWS would be more appropriate, since I'm replaying Xenosaga? XD). I was pretty much in great pain from my thighs to the middle of my back and in my entire right arm, with the occasional aching in my calf muscles and ankles.

This morning was the first day it was all gone (unless I flex certain muscles, and then they just feel a bit strained), but now I've gone and almost killed my hip. XP Since of course whenever I make something, I always seem to require at least one ingredient from the highest shelves, and so I'm up and down the stool to get it down and put it away again, and I guess that didn't agree with my joint. I had been planning on walking to Shoppers to get a phone card and some whipping cream, but that might not be a good thing right now. Stuff like this makes me feel old!

On a side note, I've posted a recipe for shortbread.

---

Also: 2 WEEKS! Well, less than that! XD

Apparently I can't sew, and neither can my mom, which was...news to me, actually, because I was sure she could. ^^; But it would appear that we don't have a working sewing machine anyway, which renders that kind of moot. So I guess that just means I'll be going as...myself? An anime fan? XD

And now I must decide whether I want to read the Slayers REVOLUTION manga summaries, or try and ignore them until I can see the series...I probably won't be able to resist. XD; But I think the series didn't really impact me as much as it could have when I finally got to see it, seeing as I dug up every detail of every episode that I could get my hands on way ahead of time. Well, I'll give ignoring it a try! XD

Treats are never lacking here~

2008-04-30T16:58:03Z

It's been a while since I was able to make something, since I had been feeling somewhat ill for a while (which I began to realize may have been the result of too many painkillers. Whoops.) and then we had tons of treats in the house already, so there was no point in making more. Monday was my mom's birthday, so we got her flowers, a gift card, and some chocolate from my favourite chocolate shop (I must remember to bring earthstar_chan one of their giant peanut butter cups to Anime North! ^^ They also have the best chocolate truffles.). She also got more chocolate from some of her friends, and surprisingly enough, no alcohol at all. XD My sister got a pretty tasty cake with a key lime filling for her.

Anyways, yesterday I did make some cookies since nobody was home to complain, and I decided to try some simple sugar cookies. They turned out very nice, and everyone seemed to like them (with the exception of my dad, who always complains about everything, so we don't really care <<;). They were called Amish sugar cookies, and they were really easy, since they were just drop cookies.

My mom says she's getting fat, but once the air conditioning is on, I won't be able to bake at all. And there's still so many recipes in just the one book, plus once we get two more ramekins, I want to make molten butterscotch cakes. Maybe I need somewhere to donate some of the things I make.

Also: Funny thing! My sister is moving...to a house just up the street. My dad couldn't believe it, but out of everything they looked at, that was the one they liked best. XD

zombiebunny!Florian will rule the world...after eating everyone's brains

2008-04-27T02:49:33Z

kunpuu fun conversation between Ion and evil!Flonne:

Ion: By the way. I heard you persuaded Florian to try and eat people's heads. Is that true?

It took me a moment to stop laughing so I could reply. XD

zenavvy @ 2008-04-13T10:29:00

2008-04-13T14:34:01Z

Happy birthday to both the_flowergirl and earthstar_chan! I hope you have lots of fun!

Und am Ende ist alles besser.

2008-04-03T02:10:14Z

Ah...the oral exam is over and I feel so much better. I ended up deciding to go second so I could get it over with, and though I stuttered like hell, I don't think it went too bad. I think something I like about my German class is that everyone is pretty much the same level. In my French classes, there were people who had taken French immersion or were actually French, so I guess I tended to feel like I was doing really badly. ^^;; But everyone in my German class did about the same, I think, so I guess that makes everyone feel a bit more comfortable.

Sometimes I think I should do something about my nervousness in these kinds of situations, though, except I don't know what. But I'm a bit afraid that if it continues like this, I'll end up like my grandma.

Anyways, I think tomorrow I'll make those muffins. For those who like the recipes, I'm now posting them in my community forsweetteeth, so all my recipes will go there. ♥

Also, I made macaroni and cheese for supper last night, and it turned out very well! The only issue was that there was too much pasta and not enough cheese, but we just added more cheese to the leftovers. I guess that means I can cook actual food too. :P

Meme answers

2008-03-30T22:53:44Z

From dqbunny: Top 5 things I want to bake some day.

1. Lime Cornmeal Muffins are next on my list.

2. Orange Cookies are something I've been eyeing for a while.

3. A layer cake that doesn't look like it's going to topple over any moment. XD;

4. Chocolate truffles.

5. Lemon poppyseed cake.

If I had the time, I might've been able to go through my books and pick out more specific ones, but all of these I would like to do anyway. ^^

From earthstar_chan: Top 5 video games.

1. Tales of the Abyss

2. Xenosaga trilogy (though Episode I is still my favourite)

3. Radiata Stories

4. Final Fantasy X (only FF I've played, actually, but I liked it.)

5. Super Mario RPG for the SNES. It was my first roleplaying game! ^_^

Can you tell what my favourite genre is? ~.^

stolen from earthstar_chan

2008-03-29T19:13:19Z

Just a little meme to distract me from my essay for a moment (I decided to use baking as my subject XD).

Comment to this post with a subject for a top five (ships, songs, books, etc) for which you would like to see my answer. I will post my answers in a separate entry. Be as specific or as broad as you'd like.

Say it's not true!

2008-03-27T21:43:23Z

I just heard my parents ordering take-out again. It kind of makes me want to cry, because at this point, I despise fast food. T_T

Uh, kind of on that note, I've apparently gained weight. I need to lay off the chocolate or else my shorts won't fit this summer.

zenavvy @ 2008-03-26T11:15:00

2008-03-26T15:23:54Z

My TA emailed me back and said he'll send me a new value for the unreacted zinc and give me an extension until Friday (since reports are normally due Wednesday!). That's excellent, so now I don't have to worry about not being able to do that report.

In other good news, I did got almost 20% higher on the second math midterm than on the first. Good news indeed, and I even did this week's webassignment and written assignment.

So on my list of schoolwork I need to get done:
~~-study for German test today~~
~~-lab report for Friday~~
~~-chemistry assignment for Monday~~
~~-chemistry pre-lab for Monday~~
~~-German Aufsatz for Monday~~
~~-finish translating Onkel Fred~~
~~-translate Tolles Tempo~~
~~-German oral exam next Wednesday~~

And I think (and hope!) that's all. I really hope I'm not working on Sunday, but who knows when they'll put up the schedule. XP

Anyways, once that's all out of the way, I reallllly want to join polychromatic, probably as Gourry. It just looks too fun!

I blame the fluctuating scales...

2008-03-25T01:03:53Z

Dang. So, for lab #8 of my chemistry class, we reacted some zinc with some iodine and have to write a report for it. Seemed simple enough, and it should be.

Except I have a glaring problem. The amount of unreacted zinc I have left over I weighed to be 0.52g, while the total zinc I had initially was weighed at 0.51g. Which...means I had negative 0.01g of zinc react, and that is very clearly very wrong. I've emailed my TA to see if there's anything I can do about it, because without a proper measurement, I can't do anything for the lab report.

Oh, I did figure out the answer to my molarity problem from before, though. Apparently we're supposed to "assume" we have 100g. Why did high school teach us to never assume?

This is the homework that never ends. T_T

2008-03-19T19:09:10Z

I don't suppose anybody knows how to get the molarity of a solution given only the density, molar mass, and percent by mass...?

/wishful thinking.

She's a deep sleeper in her old age!

2008-03-15T17:18:33Z

So, my cat now insists on sleeping in my room all day every day, to the point where she screams until I get up, have breakfast, then retreat to the computer. She actually forced my door open this morning since her screaming wasn't getting me up.

But anyways, it makes it very difficult for me to do anything in here...because I break out into giggle fits everytime she snores. XD

stolen from earthstar_chan

2008-03-06T21:22:32Z

Pick a fictional character from a fandom I know and I'll answer the following questions to the best of my abilities:

1) What is your opinion of this character? If you like the character, explain why you like him/her. Likewise if you dislike the character.
2) Is he/she important to the general plot?
3) Can you relate to this character at all? Do they grip you emotionally?
4) How much do you like the fandom that this character comes from?
5) Do you ship this character with any other character? Or are you particularly intrigued by their relationship with any other character(s)? (romance-wise or platonic)
6) Is there anything about the character you would change?
7) If you were in the fandom with this character or knew this character in real life, how do you see yourself interacting with him/her? (Would you get along well? Fall in love with? Dislike? Friendly rivalry? etc etc)
8) Does this character make the cut as one of your all time favorites (if you like) or least favorites?
9) Would you hype up this character (if you like) or warn about (if you dislike) to someone who's new to the fandom?
10) Is this character popular with the fanbase?