Mirror Images

No. No difference at all.

See, I was going to use a clever pun as a title, but it's late at night and the world is currently tilting... according to my perspective, that is. So I plan on lying down on my bed until the world decides to get its act together and stay STILL (thus ushering in the apocalypse, but that's beyond the point.)

Good night.

Rational arguments don't usually work on religious people. Otherwise there wouldn't be religious people.
- Dr Gregory House

Of Houses, Bodies and Chickens

My latest obsession: House (TV series)

I'm currently waiting for an episode to finish loading, and I thought I'd post here to make time go faster.

Yes, House has indeed captivated me. Now I'm hooked. Addicted. Addicted like the show is Vicodin. I go through phases, see... I kind of wonder how this is going to affect me in the long run. Will I be sporting a cane in the near future? Will I be alienating people with biting, sarcastic insights and unorthodox methods [and incredible wit]? We can't be sure. Stay tuned to find out.

Dr House is my new hero. I shall be quoting him more frequently.

Aaaaanyway, as you probably didn't know, I have been away. Since the 27th. I was in Copenhagen. Or rather, I was on a cruise ship en route to Copenhagen - I was only in the city for a mere 5 hours.

But now, to the important stuff!

Whilst navigating through the streets of said city, searching for the shopping mall my mother so craved to set foot on, a banner caught me eye. "Bodies Revealed", it said. I regrettably did not get to take a picture, but the banner also had a picture of a human face - with half the skin missing, thereby exposing the muscles and other stuff underneath. It was at this point I realized what the thing was - it was an exhibit. Specifically, the controversial exhibit where they use real (preserved) human corpses as displays.

So of course, I just *had* to see it.

As I stood in line to buy my ticket, I couldn't help but ponder: I am an 18 year old recovering manic-depressive (self-diagnosed), my role models include Hannibal Lecter, I am taking a course in biology, and now I'm standing in line to see dead humans on display. Hmm... just exactly what kind of career will I have in the future?

Oh and by the way... those things up there? Those barely skim the surface of my credentials. If I listed them all here, I'm pretty sure men in white coats will come barging into my room to haul me off to the nearest psych ward. Fun!

But again, I digress.

Again, I didn't get to take pictures... mostly because it wasn't allowed. And probably because I was too excited, I brilliantly forgot to take my notepad with me. So I had to cram every bit of information in my brain to jot down later. Before you get too amazed, I merely memorized the important stuff and made a mental note to research them all later.

But did you know that on average, smoking a cigarette shaves off 3 hours and 40 minutes of your life? Or that a woman is born with all the egg cells she will ever need in her life? Or that a placenta acts as lungs for a fetus?

You'll learn all this and more from the exhibit. I strongly recommend that you go there. Here is a link to the website if you want more details. Here is another link to the other exhibits (Bodies: The Exhibition, etc)

Before I rave on about another thing, let me go on a tangent about two other things. Firstly, people are far nicer to you if you speak English to them. I don't know why; they just are.

Of course, this only works in places where English is just a second (or third) language.

Secondly - I understand Danish. I just spoke English to the staff because I didn't trust my brain to function properly at the time. But anyway, there were quotes on the walls of the exhibit. Some weren't really quotes, but rather explanations for most of the stuff. Mostly these things were written both in English and in Danish (it was, after all, in Denmark). But there was one text there that was written only in Danish. I found it quite interesting. It said something about how scientists have discovered important findings through research, and also about how much medicine has advanced in the last few years. Then the text goes on to say that in spite of this, there is still much more progress to be made. So - they encourage people to donate their bodies for the sake of medical research.

Why didn't they translate that to English too? I just found that interesting.

Now - for the second gem in Copenhagen: KFC

Denmark is the only country in Scandinavia that has KFC. I have no idea as to why. Low chicken prices? I don't know. But yes. I have not had KFC in YEARS! (This might be an exaggeration...) So understandably, I was beside myself with joy as I sat down and ate a KFC meal in a small, cramped, can-barely-be-called-a-restaurant space.

I took a picture!

Sadly, I must say this...

Sorry, KFC Copenhagen, but you fail. You're not as good as the KFCs I have tasted before. Your gravy is bland, your chicken not so juicy and yes, also bland. The only thing that didn't fail was the "original recipe" breading. Better luck next time.

On a thoroughly different note... While on board the ship, I busied myself with my Rubiks cube. To take my mind off the seasickness, which I am annoyingly very susceptible to. I did take some kind of medicine for it, but it ended up with me being all groggy and delirious... a bit more groggy and delirious than I usually am, that is.


So yeah. Rubiks cube. I was playing with it, then stopped when I saw that it had formed a pattern all too familiar to me now...

That's all for me now! Wow, this has been one long post. Ciao! I may or may not post before or after New Year. Depends on my mood.

PS: Who the hell is the "you" person I've been (sort of) referring to?? The reader? What makes me even think I have one?

...I'm not really functioning that well right now, as you can probably see.

PPS: Again with the "you" thing!!

Our bodies break down, sometimes when we're 90, sometimes before we're even born, but it always happens and there's never any dignity in it. I don't care if you can walk, see, wipe your own ass. It's always ugly. Always. You can live with dignity, we can't die with it.
- Dr Gregory House

In Which I List All My Playlists

My wrists hurt.

Might have something to do with the fact that I spent the latter half of my day scrambling and unscrambling a certain cube...

But that's beside the point.

I should be sleeping now. Or at least, I should be going to bed. But I'm not. Partly because I'm not sleepy, and partly because I don't want to go to bed yet. Even though the bed is just half a meter to my right. (And here I turn my head to check if the bed is still there. Yep. Still there.)

I don't even know why I'm posting. I've got nothing to say. My day was basically comprised by these elements:
- Sleep
- Awakening
- Cooking
- TV
- Internet
- House (mostly)
- Rubiks Cube (mostly)

Nothing exciting, see?

But yeah. I thought I'd post the names of all the playlists I have (so far) created on me iTunes. I can't really fathom why I'm posting this...

MY PLAYLISTS:

Smart Playlists:

- All Japanese 126 songs
(Anime songs + J-Pop/J-Rock songs combined)

- Evanescence 29 songs
(Songs by my favorite band)

- Most Played 124 songs
(As the name implies, songs with a play count greater than 50)

- Recently Added varies every week
(Again, what the name implies)

- Remioromen 11 songs
(A Japanese J-Pop band... not my favorite, so I'm wondering why they have their own playlist...)

Regular Playlists:

- Angst Mode 56 songs
(Angsty, angsty tunes. This playlist aids me whenever I am on a quest to hurtle down towards the spiraling depths of depression.)

- Anime 97 songs
(Well, I am an anime fangirl.)

- Brother of Death 31 songs
(The playlist I listen to when I want to fall asleep. Mellow tunes.)

- Classical 97 songs
(Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Debussy, Lizst... they all converge here... and whack each other with their instruments of choice... [that sounded incredibly wrong!!])

- Complete Serenity 25 songs
(The playlist I listen to when I want to fall asleep *at once*. This contains über-relaxing, instrumental tunes. Most of which are taken from the Classical playlist.)

- Desultory 23 songs
(Desultory adj: A desultory action is done without enthusiasm and in a disorganized way; a formal word.
Hmm... methinks a new playlist name is in order. This one contains stuff that can't be placed anywhere else -- Billy Boyd interviews, bleach rants, The Raven read by John Astin...)

- Faves 59 songs
(Music I like so much)

- J-Pop + J-Rock 31 songs
(Japanese music. Need I say more?)

- Mozart: Requiem 15 songs
(Yes, I have the entirety of Mozart's funeral mass saved in my iTunes. I haven't been to a real mass for over a year now, and I plan on keeping it that way. But I do enjoy listening to this.)

- MuggleCast 3 songs
(This surprised me, really xD I thought I had deleted it! Well, apparently not, since there are still 3 mp3s here.)

- Offbeat 53 songs
(Pop music. Or pop-ish music. Jazz, Manilow, Europe... everything that's not rock or classical.)

- Opera 12 songs
(Bocelli, Pavarotti, Potts [yes, I love the dude], etc)

- OPM 15 songs
(You have Google. Look it up.)

- Rainy Night 33 songs
(Yeah... I wanted another 'mellow' playlist. One that was suitable for rainy days, as the name would suggest. Or nights.)

- Rock 151 songs
(ROCK!!!!!! \m/ -__- \m/ [I am guilty of sneaking in some songs that aren't truly rock, but feck it. My iPod, my rules.)

- Rocky Horror Picture Show 7 songs
(This is one of the few musicals that I can tolerate, akshuli. What can I say? The Sweet Transvestite from Transsexual Trannsylvania managed to capture my heart... :P I don't have the whole soundtrack though D:)

- Sleepy Hollows 63 songs
(Another 'mellow' playlist... came to be before Rainy Night)

- The Dark of The Bleeding Moon 2 songs
(A Bleach musical. I don't have all the songs though...)

- The Phantom of The Opera 20 songs
(I can honestly say that this is my favorite musical. That's huge - considering I hate the genre.)

- Tranquility 30 songs
(A cross between Brother of Death and Sleepy Hollows)

- Tranquility II 18 songs
(Nearly a copy of Tranquility, but with a few minor differences. Give or take a few songs.)

- Upbeat 44 songs
(All the happy songs in my collection. As of now there are 44 songs)

- Warm and Fuzzy 69 songs
(Again another 'mellow' playlist. Came to be before Rainy Night. Now the most overplayed playlist I have.)

And yayyy that's done! I guess I could go to bed now. Toodles!!

Music is what feelings sound like.

Achievement: Unlocked

OMG!

I did it! I did it!

I solved the shiney shiney!! I solved the Rubik's cube! Through twisting and turning alone!! I did not have to resort to destroying it!!

Granted, I did it with instructions. But feck it!

Now I must depart, for I must mess up the cube again and start anew. This I shall repeat until the moves have finally etched themselves into my memory.

I bid you all a good day/night.

PS: I bloody love House.

This is my office, I'm talking, there are people here who work for me, but not listening. Explain this to me.
- Dr Gregory House

Blocks and Barbarism

I have a new enemy.

Look there. I solved it.

Granted, I was forced to resort to the barbaric way. I took the damn thing apart and put it back together again in the correct order. Hmm... Maybe I should call that the biologist's way instead... or the mechanic's way...

I shall solve you on my own, Rubik's cube. The day shall come when I can finally solve you through twisting and turning alone.

From this day on, I shall train. I shall train, study, and prove myself a formidable opponent. Your days are numbered, Rubik's cube.

“The problems of puzzles are very near the problems of life, our whole life is solving puzzles. If you are hungry, you have to find something to eat. But everyday problems are very mixed - they're not clear. The Cube's problem depends just on you. You can solve it independently. But to find happiness in life, you're not independent. That's the only big difference.”

- Erno Rubik

And When The Cheeks Hurt

I read, I wrote, I conquered.

It takes 17/22/10/4 muscles to smile (no one's really sure), and it hurts when you overdo it. xD

But I can't help it. I'm too happy. I just have to smile!! I can't stop!!

Oh my Elessar.

Main reason for this happiness? Well, it's the same one as in the Smile Explosion post. Multiplied by two. I ___ a ___. Twice. I can't give you any more details because of that aforementioned mantra, but heh - enjoy this. This is the closest thing to a clue you'll ever get from me!

Now that I have sufficiently calmed down, I can start telling the other part of this story.

*squeee* *cough*

So in my school, there's this traditional closing christmas "celebration" of sorts. Not really a celebration, more like a bunch of students performing - dancing, singing, whatever. And every year, there's a writing contest. Last year, I regretted so bitterly that I did not join, so I vowed that this year, things would change. So I joined the contest. I had previously written a horror story in 10th grade, so I took that, edited, and entered the competition.

And I won. 2nd place. Mwahahahaha. Prize: A Norli (bookstore) gift card worth 300 NOK.

Oh yes, mommy is indeed very pleased.

Particularly because later on, I was smothered with hugs from people I love. And also received various congratulatory remarks. :D

Now I must go book shopping tomorrow! Ha!

Closing quote: Remarks from the jury (translated, of course, so some parts don't really make any sense xD)

About the text that won 2nd place, the jury observes:

This is a mystery story that grows stronger with every sentence. The story is very well thought-through and has several different plans of action. It switches between dream and reality, and events and details are given increased importance in the course of the story until the climax towards the end. The reader is nevertheless left with some unanswered questions, as it should be after reading a good story. Conscious language control and use of literary tools also notes that this is a writer who masters the genre well.

Changes

I can't read angst anymore.

Angsty fics. I can't read them. I can't bear reading them anymore. I can't bear watching über angsty movies anymore either.

I remember a not-so-far-off time when I actually enjoyed angsty stuff. I relished reading angsty stories; the greater the pain it instilled in me, the better. I remember reveling in that painful feeling in me heart. Bonus points if the angsty material made me bawl my eyes out.

But now I don't enjoy them anymore. I can't stand them. Nowadays I find myself searching for fluffy stories, seeking to soak myself in the warm and fuzzy feeling they provide.

Even angsty music. Bah. Back in the not-so-far-off time, I used to listen to my 'Angst Mode' playlist at least once a week. Now it's turned to a once a month affair. I find that the overplayed playlists are now the 'Warm and Fuzzy' one and the 'Upbeat' one... Sometimes 'Sleepy Hollows' and 'Faves', often 'Rock', but not Angst Mode. Not anymore.

Something has definitely changed.

My Elessar, have I really turned into a happy person?

The Sun. I blame The Sun for this.

If you want to be happy, be.
- Leo Tolstoy

A Smile Explosion

I am sitting here in the library. It's cold, my pants are wet, I think I have a fever, my arms feel dead because they've been battered and bruised by an evil volleyball.

And yet a goofy smile graces my features.

Happy, happy day. One of the, if not THE happiest day in my life.

ZOMEH! I cannot believe that really happened!!!!!!

(Post might be updated when I get home and have had the time to think. Or maybe not.)

The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
- Allan K Chalmers

[UPDATE:

I'm home now. Have been for nearly 5 hours now. I think I may come down with a cold, so I'm sipping tea with lemon to make it go away. Tea... what would we do without it? I'm also taking paracetamol - both for the cold symptoms, and for me aching body - courtesy of volleyball. There's a reason for my hatred of that sport, really.

A smile appears on me face every bloody five minutes. There it goes again. *squeeeeeee*

I go super-sonic when I squee xD. I asked my friend if she wanted to hear me go super-sonic, she said no. Wise choice.

I would love to post a song to express my emotions, because in keeping with my hardcore "leave-no-evidence-behind" mantra, I can't really bring myself to write what actually happened in here...

Sadly, I have discovered that I really DON'T have any happy songs in my iTunes... Even the catchy, upbeat ones bear an underlying message of melancholia. Suits my personality well, I guess. A fine example is the song currently playing on repeat in me head - 'Amazing', by High and Mighty Color (J-Pop/-Rock band). It's so bubbly and happy and upbeat... then I checked the translation, and it turns out that the song's really about someone leaving for some "neo universe", and the person left behind says "I'm not sad, because I know you'll be reborn." Whatever that means.

Oh wait, I have happy songs. 'Everytime We Touch' by Cascada is happy, is it not? And I also have 'I Kissed A Girl' by Kate Perry, although in this case I did not kiss, and it was not a girl. I merely ____ a _____. Damn the mantra!

*squeeeeeeeeeeee*

What else do I have? On a completely unrelated note, I am listening to Mock The Week. Recommended by a friend, best show recommendation I've ever listened to. Frankie Boyle has won my heart, he really has. He's not helping with my swearing problem though. I think I've said "f*ck" a hundred times today. I shit you not.

'Monster' by The Automatics? That's happy too...
Hehe... and some various crimps from The Mighty Boosh xD
'We Will Rock You', Queen?

Nah. Screw this.

Enjoy:



Amazing~ Afureru omoi kimi wa kitto koraete
Amazing~ Kanaetai kara wasurenai yo zutto

Kimi wa dokodemo
Like I'm in the bottom of the world
Mae wo mu iteita
There's nothing of the protection
Hikari kagayaku
Even this conflict is wasting time
Yoake wo motomete mada tookute

Kibou ni tsukareta kokoro was mou nidoto sugata nakimono motome
Sora e

Amazing~ Afureru omoi kimi wa kitto koraete (You'll remember)
Amazing. Kanaetai kara wasurenai yo zutto
(You'll remember)

Nami wa shizumari
My emotion is already burst
Muon no kanata e kieteku

Tsukiyo ni ukabeta omokage mada ima mo
sugata nakimono motome
Sora e

Amazing~ Afureru omoi hitori namida wo koraete
(You'll remember)
Amazing~ Kanaetai kara wa surenai yo zutto
(You'll remember)

Believe in yourself and the present
Whatever happened you can get away
You said, so I can believe myself
This environment and this moment
Ready go! I don't wanna anymore
You have gone away to the neo universe
Like a bomb, everything is already burst
But I don't cry, cause you will rebirth

Amazing~ Itoshiki tomo yo kimi wa kaeranu tabibito
Amazing~ Deaeta koto wasurenai yo Ahh
Amazing~ Afureru omoi kimi ni sayonara tsugetemo
(You'll remember)
Amazing~ Kanaetai kara wasurenai yo umarekawaru darou
(You'll remember)

You'll remember x2
Ready go! I don't wanna anymore
You have gone away to the neo universe
Like a bomb, everything is already burst
But I don't cry, cause you will rebirth

Keith Olbermann on That Horrible Prop 8

If you've ever read my past rants, you'll know I'm a huge advocate of gay rights.

Here's a special comment by Keith Olbermann. He says it all in a way that is so beautiful - so eloquent - it nearly brought me to tears.

We can't have gay marriage 'cause marriage is sacred, it happens in the church. Marriage is sacred, it's sacred. No, it's not, not in America, not in a country that watches Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire? and The Bachelor and The Bachelorette and Who Wants to Marry a Midget. Get the f*ck outta here. Shit, Michael Jackson got married, how f*cking sacred is that shit?
- Chris Rock

The Carrot is Orange

I'm eating noodles, and they're good.

It's snowing outside. Now I understand why I woke up with a headache, and why my ADD seems to be worse today -- ooh shiney!

*cough*

So yesterday... was my Karate graduation. Our kind went first, the white-belts. So we did the stuff we were supposed to do; punched and kicked and all that. And then we bowed, and it was over.

Or at least I thought it was over.

Suddenly, me sensei called me and a friend over. I thought, "oookay, what's up?"

He smiled. Then he explained. "We thought that the both of you were really good. So, we would like you to have a 'double graduation' of sorts, and try to move up to an orange belt instead." (We were supposed to graduate to yellow belt)

At this point, I was like "whoah!"

Then I protested weakly, or rather "protested" weakly. We haven't learned the moves - what are the moves? We don't know the kata - we've only seen it twice!

But he insisted anyway. And so we went for it. And as predicted, I completely messed up the Heian Shodan kata xD And I just found out today that my very own mother LOL'ed at moi when I messed up. Thanks mommah.

Long story cut terribly short - I got ze orange belt!! w00t!!! Ze orange!!! YEAH!

I'm proud.

And I think one of the main reasons for this lucky break is the fact that I ran past ze sun!!

You're only given one little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.
- Robin Williams

On The Subject Of Swearing

Today, my English teacher called on someone for swearing in class.

Quite surprising/ hypocritical, considering that she exclaimed "Bullshit!" in response to someone's remarks about some school system.

Last week a classmate (same class) overheard me speaking soothingly to my english notebook. I believe my exact words were - "Fuck this fucking fucker!". He then proceeded to stare at me with these huge, sheep eyes and meekly inquired, "Did you just say the F word?"

I could not look at those sheep eyes. No one should look at me with the sheep eyes!! I cannot stand the innocence in them!! The sheep eyes are one of the primary reasons why I do not like children!

No to sheep eyes!! Baaaah!!

So anyway, yes, I do swear a lot. My excuse; I've been watching a lot of stand-up comedy lately... most of them Irish stand-up comedians. Yes, I hear you now. Irish comedy is not Irish comedy if the word "fuck" is not inserted in every sentence. (<--- stereotyping) Out of curiousity, I just want to find out how often I swear. I've taken some past posts and counted the number of swear words in them...


First Post Ever - nope, no swearing.

An Emo Bulletin - nope, still no swearing. But the angst levels are through the fucking roof. (Swear count in *this* post = 5)

Of Chemicals and Stupidity - STILL no swearing. Wow, I'm kinda impressed.

To Babble Or Not To Babble - FINALLY some swearing!! Shit = 1, Ass = 1... that's it? Disappointing. Swear count = 2

Late Night Musings - Damn = 1. Swear count = 1

A Rough Outline of Things - Fuck = 3 (variations). Swear count = 3. (And I was angry here! I was so angry and yet only had 3 swear words?? Wow!)

I'd love to do this forever, but I have procrastinated enough. I have Philosophy homework to do and a History test to study for. So toodles!

And for some reason, I can't find the exact George Carlin quote about swear words, and I don't really feel like scouring the net for it right now... That, and I don't really have time. xD

Anyway, he said that words themselves aren't *bad*; "Fuck" is not a bad word. What matters is the context in which you use the word.

A genius, that man. He is already sorely missed.

RANT

I am currently writing a cover letter for English class.

*Attempting* to write a cover letter.

*STRUGGLING* to write a cover letter.

[Censored by The Crazy Authoress on August 14, 2009. Purely for monetary reasons.]

Alright. I understand that this is valuable training that will help us in the future but AAARGH!!
I plan on working as a psychologist. Why the hell do I have to write a cover letter for a Marketing Assistant job???

Yeah, yeah, I get it. Things may not always go as planned and blahblah... but again - FECK IT!

A POX ON THE PEOPLE WHO WROTE THIS DAMN BOOK!!

Not-So Apocalyptic Musings

So the world did not end.

As usual, my propensity to overreact got the better of me.
To that, I say "bah!"

Right now there's a song playing in me head.

"The End of The World" by The Carpenters... I don't know why.

Why does the sun go on shining?
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Don't they know it's the end of the world,
Cause you don't love me anymore?

And I say, what? Where did that come from?
I blame the melody. Sweet, melancholic melodies always stick.

I actually have nothing to rant about. I'm just trying to kill time. I'm in class.
Something about dialects.

Sometimes I wonder what's the point of having a blog if I can't write what I really want.
But again, my strong instinct against leaving any sort of evidence behind overrides this fancy.
I think this instinct comes from years of "training". Bwahahaha.

This bloody song is still stuck in me head!

Oh look - it's snowing!
I can never concentrate when it's snowing. Or when it's raining.
There's just something so therapeutic about watching stuff fall down from the sky.
The very picture of redemption.
But I have to leave now, class is over.

Tell me, do you really think you'd go to hell for having loved?