uisceros: (Adipose)
So here's the deal; I'm over Asian music (and, sadly, Big Bang).

Not in a "NOW I HAAAAAATE IT!!!!!!11!!!!" kind of way. More in a "I used to love it, but that part of my life is over now, and I'm moving on~" sort of way.

My brain functions like this -
1. I see something new.
2. I OBSESS over said thing for awhile (could be weeks, could be years).
3. I burn myself out on the thing.
4. I slowly stop paying attention to the thing.
5. I find a NEW thing to obsess over.

Nothing I love in my life is permanent. I'm always in flux. I can never be sure if a fascination is real, or if it's a passing whim. It's happened before, it will happen again.

It's sad - the end of an era for me (I've been in this since 2008). I haven't listened to Asian music in months. Even Big Bang. I feel no sort of intense obsession over them anymore. I was looking at a pic of GD the other day, and I don't even really find him that attractive anymore. So... that happened.

I'm thinking about selling my Big Bang stuff. My monster, MONSTER collection. I don't need it, and it's just a shitload of stuff sitting around unused. I figure I could get a bunch of money for some of my really rare things. AND since fans in the US get shafted for kpop stuff, I figure there's probably a lot of fans who would die to get some of my things.

I'll still follow BB - I'll listen to their new music, and support them. But it's not the same. I'm not the same. Change happens.

What's next? I don't know. I'm getting older. I feel it. Should I have proper adult hobbies? Like... making ships in bottles? Crossword puzzles? Antiquing? Probably not going to happen.

Right now I'm still focused on going to school in London next year. Aside from that, I'm still trying to figure things out. I want to work on my internet addiction, but things are not looking promising right now (damn you, amazing beautiful delicious internet, DAMN YOU). I'll let you know what I find out.
uisceros: (I see that)
I'm at work. There's nothing to do - I did everything that needed to be done.

I'm bored. Naturally that equals "FANFIC TIME" to me.

So basically this means I am reading smut at work.

AND YOU CAN TOO! (Ten/Rose)

Yup. Smut. At. Work.

I am the best employee EVAR.

Ten years

Sep. 11th, 2011 09:17 pm
uisceros: (Bangkok Love Story; Fog)
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In my car. I had just gotten out of my AP English high school class. I was driving home. I heard Bush's speech on the radio. I drove home, and me and my sister watched the towers fall live on TV.

The next day I found out several of the people on the planes that hit the towers were from my town, and the surrounding areas.

I attended a 9/11 funeral for the father of a boy who was in my class in school. It was horrible and tragic.

And that's it. It's been ten years. It feels like yesterday.
uisceros: (Serenity + Tardis)
I'm pretty bored, and have nothing really useful to say, but whatever, here's a post! About life! OMG SO EXCITING! I'll even write in COLORS and SPARKLES to make it better. (Nixed the sparkles... they make stuff damn hard to read)

1. Shoulder still fucking hurts. Positive - cortisone shot worked, no longer experiencing sharp shooting pain. Negative - still aches like a motherfucker, plus it's all weak and exhausted all the time. Overall, a positive improvement though.

2.I dyed my hair back to dark brown yesterday (I've been blonde for two years). It's jarring, despite it being very close to my natural color. I also added some kickass teal streaks in. Because sometimes a girl just wants some goddamn multi-colored hair, okay?!

3. Sadly, due to exhaustive pain, my foray into academic programs has stalled. I'm still planning it, and I still have a shitload of time to get my act together, so whatever. Still don't know what program to choose though...

4. I'm enjoying being slightly crazy, esoteric, and old lady-ish in my everyday life. There's nothing more fun than having arguments about what antibody causes allergic response in humans (for the record, it's IgE. I was wrong... thought it was the non-existent IgH), or long discussions about what exactly is defined as beautiful to an individual. Or even stupid stuff about how David Tennant was the best Doctor ever, or how I want to learn how to use a flail because seriously, who's going to attack someone with a flail?!

5. Sometimes I wish I was wired a bit more like the general population. It would make social interactions a lot easier. As it is, I'm forced to sit and listen to people talk about their nights out at the bar, or look at pictures of family weddings, and I'm like "REALLY?". I can fake interaction well enough, but is that what people do normally? Talk about stupidly benign things? As an introvert, my brain works differently. I find all this stuff exhausting and pedestrian. And then whenever I mention anything about myself, I can hear the crickets, and people being like "...what?", because I am very clearly not the norm. And then when they talk about me behind my back (not even necessarily maliciously), I am reminded of how much I just don't trust people, and why I should never freely speak to anyone I haven't known for over half my life.

You know, I would have been a kickass Greek philosopher.



I keep forgetting to comment and reply to stuff because that's who I am. However, short comments to some of my peeps :D
[livejournal.com profile] frostedpopcorn - CONGRATS!!!
[livejournal.com profile] seven_trees - So exciting about the concert! Have tons and tons of fun.
[livejournal.com profile] anenko - I get that way too after the obsession stage is gone. I commiserate.
[livejournal.com profile] lydzi - Your vacation pics make me want to go to Wales even more!
[livejournal.com profile] sigrun - Welcome back to LJ land! I'm glad you're doing well.
[livejournal.com profile] airplanemusic - I think we can agree that families suck, and reality is for losers. I'll really try to reply more in depth later.

Anyone else I forgot, SORRY! It's not you, it's me. I suck at life. Badly.
uisceros: (Adipose)
Self explanatory. 95% art.


Brooke Shaden Photography



Crafterall Papercuts



Cricket Press Art Prints



Thin Silver Rings (These from Mary John are gorgeous - I own one)



Posters from Pop Chart Lab


Esperanza Spalding - (Usually not a fan of jazz, but I wanted to give her a chance out of contrabass solidarity. Turns out I really really love her delicately beautiful music)



(All photos belong to the people I linked them to, not to me)
uisceros: (Default)
Bored~ )


- Still not watching anything. These things come and go. One day I'll decide to watch dramas again. Until then, I'm very much stuck on British TV.

- I've started watching Torchwood, which is lovely. I'm watching both series 1 and 4, which is confusing, but works out in the end. I do nothing linearly. I adore all the characters (well, mostly - I feel rather meh about Tosh, but that might change), and the plot is fun.

- I STILL can't decide on which grad program to apply for. I'd ask for opinions, but I have a feeling most people don't feel the same sort of excitement towards the study of infectious diseases that I feel (it's between Medical Parasitology, Medical Microbiology, and Tropical Medicine and International Health).

And that's it.
uisceros: (I see that)
I haven't posted in forever, I know. Long story short - My body's been going down the shitter recently.

Back in March I had some shoulder pain. I thought nothing of it, and eventually it went away. About a month and a half ago my upper back started hurting. I took muscle relaxers for about a week, and eventually it went away.

And then, oh, three weeks ago, things went to hell. My shoulder decided it wanted to FUCK ME OVER. I have no real idea what's wrong with it (other than knowing it's something with the rotator cuff). What I DO know is that I'm in pain almost constantly. I have good days, where it only aches a bit, and hurts if I move it too fast or too awkwardly. And then I have the bad days where I can't move it at all, and the pain is near excruciating (and I deal with pain really well). It's getting progressively worse - I'm losing functionality of my whole arm. The pain is radiating, and my entire arm is extremely weak. I'm also exhausted all the time because constant pain = fucking tiring.

I'm doing physical therapy, and I have to go see the Orthopedist in a few days. Yay.

I'm in great health - I never get sick, all my organs work beautifully, and I have no deficiencies of any kind. But my joints hate me. Always have. This is the worst though. It's disabling me (preventing me from doing my job, even), and I can't deal with it. So I bitch and moan on twitter, grit my teeth, and try to work through the pain, because it's what I do. But I'm not exactly in the best mood ever, and half the time I can't concentrate on anything besides "OMG PAIN", so I've gotten dreadfully boring. Thus no posts. Nothing worth saying.

Annnyway, that concludes the lovely "Joints are horrible fucktards bent on destroying your life" part of the show. Please exit to your right.
uisceros: (Default)
I have to reply individually to everyone that gave me London advice, but here's a general THANK YOU.

(*apologizes in advance for not making sense, and possibly swearing like a sailor*)

- Still planning on London. Because why the fuck not? I really have nothing tying me here. I like to be free as a bird. And goddamn it, I WILL BE. Luckily I don't have to have my application in until March, so that's nice. PLENTY of time to procrastinate.

- Going to apply for a higher position at work. Because, also, why the fuck not? Better pay = more money to move away with.

- I BOUGHT A CAR, YOU GUYS. A decent car. Not a shitty one like all my other cars (I've had 3 [though my first car I can't bear to call shitty because it was the best car ever], and THIS CAR is the first with air conditioning, a CD player, and windows that ACTUALLY WORK. Yeah. It's amazing). I'll post pictures soon, but it's essentially THIS CAR - except mine is black. 2007 Toyota Yaris Sedan. Basically my dream car (that isn't a Porsche), which is awesome.

- I've been in this weird, extremely happy mood lately. I'm pretty sure it's because of the shitload of antidepressants being pumped into me (I hate them, but MAN do they work). I'm not talking in hyperbole either - I'm on a lot a medication. I have treatment-resistant depression, which means the only way it's ever successfully been treated, is to load me full of meds. I'm on an SNRI, and a SSRI - both on high dosage. I'm fairly constantly at risk for Serotonin syndrome. It's the funnest thing ever... On the plus side, BIZARRE AND FREAKISH EXCITEMENT OVER EVERYTHING! I love it when I randomly talk to people (INCLUDING STRANGERS) about my mental health~

- I've also been NEEDING change. I crave it like heroin. I've been dying my hair pretty constantly. I've been wanting to move the fuck away. I've been planning and ruminating and just being really freaky about everything. I keep changing what I want, and FOR ONCE it's not bad. It's great. I love it. I want so much and I need it all.

- I'm starting to not make sense, huh? I BLAME THE FACT THAT IT'S 4AM.


Also still Doctor Who obsessed. Still. Always. Forever. Done.
uisceros: (Bangkok Love Story; Fog)
Me being internal, and explaining my reasoning )

And, to top it off, I found the best best BEST Masters degree programs ever (well, technically - my ideal is still at Georgetown, but whatever). It's at the amusingly named London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (which is part of the University of London). Check these Master programs out;
- Biology & Control of Disease Vectors
- Control of Infectious Diseases
- Medical Microbiology
- Medical Parasitology (!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
- Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases
- Tropical Medicine & International Health
- Virology

And these are just the ones I am interested in. All of them are amazing. I don't even know how to choose. CAN I DO THEM ALL?! You cannot understand how amazed and excited that there's a school that offers a MASTERS in parasitology. Most parasitology degrees are firmly PhD.

I'm going to apply. But I also have no fucking idea of what else to do. How do I live in England? I have no clue. Yes, I've lived in Taiwan, but for some reason that wasn't nearly as difficult as this seems. I need a job, an apartment, transportation... I've never been to Great Britain before. I have no idea how things work there. The money is confusing, I don't know any of the areas, and I'm just generally baffled by the whole thing.

So here's my question for you lot - ANY SUGGESTIONS OR TIPS ON HOW TO DO THIS?. I beg you, please help me! Anyone ever studied abroad? British people on my flist, any help with how to work things? Somehow I think it's worse that Britain isn't terribly dissimilar from the US. It makes it more intimidating.

Other stuff I've bulleted! )

I think that's it!
uisceros: (Night)
I used to post on this thing 3-4 times a day. What happened? Oh yeah, life...

Several things!

1. I've started watching Doctor Who. And hell if I didn't become ridiculously obsessed. I'm about halfway through series 1 (2005), and I've skipped around in series 2 and 4 as well. The whole Doctor/Rose thing is lovely and heartbreaking. It literally made me cry at one point. Me. Cry. That's nearly unheard of. I love British TV. It really never lets me down. I guess over the years I've come more accustomed to British humor, because I seriously find this show SO AMAZINGLY FUNNY. This was not the case 10 years ago, when I had issues trying to figure out why Brassed Off was considered comedic... I think watching the British version of Whose Line every single day for many many months somehow changed my brain.

2. As per [livejournal.com profile] darkeyedwolf's recommendation, I started watching Rebound, which is adorable. Plus, MOCO IS IN IT, AND I LOVE MOCO. Who doesn't love Moco? Freaks. That's who. I've had issues with Aibu Saki in the past (I really, REALLY hated her character in Utahime, and due to transference, I've been lukewarm about her ever since). This is the role that actually made me like her. I cannot help but like her here. (This happened once before with Seto Koji, who I HATED in Koizora, but won me over in Atadan) The plot is a bit weird. Body issues, fat people, etc etc etc. I enjoy that they actually made Saki and Moco appear fat - usually they put a normal sized girl on screen, and are like "OMG FAT!!!!11". And I like that there is a show that addresses this. I DO NOT LIKE that she apparently lost 70lbs in 2 weeks. Not possible. BELIEVE ME. As formerly kinda-anorexic (long story), I know this cannot happen. 30lbs in 2 weeks eating nothing but 5 baby carrots a day? SURE. But not 70. Either way, I'm only a few episodes in. I got distracted (as per usual), but I do hope to return to it as soon as the Doctor Who mania burns off.

3. I'm not going to talk much about Dae here, mostly because it breaks my heart. I will say that I don't think he should be found responsible. My dad actually had a similar situation happen to him. He was driving on the highway at night when all of a sudden the car in front of him swerved into the other lane. Because YOU CANNOT PHYSICALLY SEE WHAT IS ON THE ROAD IN FRONT OF THE CAR IN FRONT OF YOU, he didn't see that there was something in the road, and hit it. This happens. Dae didn't see the motorcyclist, and it was no fault of his. I don't know Korean law, and I'm SURE it's different, but here in the USA, you would not be found responsible for something like that. Especially if you didn't hit the person in the first place. I think people are paying WAY too much attention to Dae, and not focusing on the real issue - the driver who hit the motorcyclist to begin with, and then drove away. I have sympathy for the deceased's family, of course. But I also have sympathy for Dae, who is also a victim, IMO. He's being blamed for something that he could literally not avoid. Wrong place, wrong time. I have a feeling a lot of these people who keep saying it's Dae's fault (or at least partially his fault) don't actually drive on a regular basis...

4. Things are boring / okay at work and stuff. I'm not going to stay long there - no fault of theirs, but I need to change. I can't live my life doing this.

5. Went to the doctor, got meds. I hope to soon be happier. Now, if I could only remember to take them...

6. The weather's been really fucked up here. Everyone knows of the devastating tornado's all over the country? Well, last night three hit in Massachusetts. Seriously. Tornadoes. Here. We don't get many of those. But these were bad. They hit six towns, killed four people, injured at least 200, and practically destroyed a whole town center. Luckily I live rather far from where they struck, but I did get a scare when randomly the sky turned green last night. Weirdly enough, we didn't even get much rain. The storm seemed to pass just below where we are.


I think that's it for now - I have to go to the gym (*gag*), so off~
uisceros: (Default)
Am I the only one who does not find the guy who plays Cesare in The Borgias attractive in the least? Not that he's ugly or anything, but TOTALLY not my type. It's a fine show, but so far none of the guys are standing out to me in terms of hotness. Pity. It shouldn't, but it does affect how much I enjoy the show.

I'm also kinda irritated that they made Sancha so... loose. But whatever, hopefully her character becomes the super powerful woman she was in reality, and not a caricature of sex.
uisceros: (Chisato)
It's 2am and I'm bored, so NATURALLY, I decided to post my skin care regimen. I've seen a few other people do this recently, and since other people's have helped me in the past (how I discovered Mario Badescu), I figured why not.

This... is MOSTLY everything. I have an embarrassing amount of other stuff, but this is the stuff I'm currently using.

My skincare can easily be divided into two separate but equally important factions - acne prevention, and anti-aging. MOST of the time, when my skin isn't being an asshole, anti-aging is the priority. But when my skin decides to freak out, that falls to the wayside while I figure out how to calm my skin. Right now I'm in between - thus why I'm using SO MUCH.


click to see larger

What this all is, and why I use it )

Soooo yeah. That's it :)

Oh yeah! Almost forgot... My NUMBER ONE skin treatment is an oral antibiotic. I take one daily. If I don't, things go to hell. Seriously. I need that shit to survive.
uisceros: (Bangkok Love Story; Fog)
So, Osama bin Laden is dead. I'm conflicted.

On one hand, he was responsible for the death of so many people - not just in my own country, but throughout the world.

On the other hand, he was a human being himself, and I vehemently believe that one death doesn't justify another. In some instances, such as this one, I can see how assassination is needed. That doesn't mean I have to like it.


I'm happy that the families and friends of people who were killed in 9/11 can have some peace. I'm happy that Americans can feel that at least some part of the war was won.

I can't deny feeling a sense of relief over it all. 9/11 was horrible. All Americans were affected, no matter where they were. And all Americans will remember where they were when they heard the news. I had just left my high school AP English class, and was driving home. I heard President Bush's reaction speech at the school he was visiting in Florida on the radio in my old car. As it turned out, both of the hijacked planes that hit the twin towers were from Boston. Many of the victims on the planes were from surrounding towns. Two were from my town. One was the father of a boy I who was in my grade in school. I attended his funeral.

But I cannot celebrate the death of another, no matter if he was a horrible human being who made it his life's work to kill innocent people.

I like what the Vatican said as a response (and it definitely does not only apply to Christians) - "In front of the death of man, a Christian never rejoices but rather reflects on the grave responsibility of each one in front of God and men, and hopes and commits himself so that every moment not be an occasion for hatred to grow but for peace."
uisceros: (GD HB1)
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My family had the Atari system from before I was born, so it's highly plausible I first played Pac-man, or something of the sort.

The first video game I actually remember playing was Super Mario Bros (or Duck Hunt... one of the two). We got the NES system in, I believe, '85 or '86.

The first computer game... I have no idea. Probably solitare or something. We got our first computer around 1990. We had a LOT of the early DOS games (my dad was/is a gamer) - stuff like Duke Nukem, Commander Keen, Dark Ages, SimAnt, etc. Which is why, even now, I can navigate DOS like no one's buisness.

Ah, nostalgia. I actually prefer the DOS platform games to the stuff that's out now...

WORD POWER

Apr. 23rd, 2011 01:25 am
uisceros: (Default)
I'm currently studying for my GRE exam. And while verbal is my strong section in general, I decided to study that more than math... It's some type of weird form of procrastination - like when I learned the Greek alphabet instead of studying for physics class.

Right now I'm working on GRE vocab. Which is an amusing and enlightening experience for me. I LOVE words. I love learning new words, I love finding synonyms for words, I love researching word roots (this especially - etymology is one of my favorite things. I was the only person in my 8th grade class that was excited by the etymology lessons. This also applies to Chinese characters - I love finding similar characters, and researching their roots)... I just really love words.

Like the other day I found out that the Latin root "bell(i)" denotes something relating to war. So now words like belligerent, bellicose, rebellion, and antebellum make a shitload more sense.

Another thing I just learned - complacent and complaisant are VERY close to being synonyms (they both mean obliging). Except complacent refers more to a prideful contentment, whereas complaisant is more like a good natured obligingness. Subtle differences, but can refer to entirely different circumstances. I LOVE shit like that. I like ambiguity and variety in language. It makes things a lot more fun.

ANYWAY, since this is what is currently occupying my time, I felt the need to write about it...

Love Song

Apr. 14th, 2011 01:53 am
uisceros: (Default)
Okay, the "Love Song" MV. I ADORE the damn thing. It's a lovely bit of cinematography. It's done in (probably) two very long takes. Not only that, but the editing is seamless. The crane work is perfect. I didn't find a single error or misstep, and I watched this thing like a hawk. There were no shadows or reflections from the crane, which is pretty damn impressive.

Like I said, it's done in (probably) two takes. I love long takes. They're one of my favorite film techniques. I love how they flow - they can look pretty damn sleek when done well. IMO, Orson Welles was the best at this - See Touch of Evil, or Citizen Kane.

I studied film technique in college. I'm a cinematography geek. I love when I get to use my knowledge for random fannish stuff. But really, this video is lovely. The money spent making it was definitely worth it.



As for plot... I really don't care about that. Most MVs don't have a plot. They're supposed to be a visual experience to correspond to the song. I don't care if that visual experience includes a plot. In fact, a lot of times I prefer it didn't. And a lot of times, if a video DOES have a plot, it doesn't exactly make sense with the song (Alejandro...). So whatever. I honestly don't give a shit.
uisceros: (Default)
I'm at work. I'm bored. It's my first day, and I'm reading long boring documents. So I need a break before I either fall asleep, or my brain melts.

So, random -

Top 15 Big Bang Songs!
(These are in NO order whatsoever, and do not include solos of subgroup activities)

- Haru Haru
- Hallelujah
- Always
- Gara Gara GO!!
- Crazy Dog
- Tonight
- Remember
- Everything
- Last Farewell
- Bigbang
- Number 1
- How Gee
- Stylish
- Hands Up (Korean version)
- Top of the World

I sense a pattern...

IDK, I don't like the new songs more than the 4th mini. I honestly like the fourth mini better. It's more my style. I still like the new songs, but I don't see why everyone's acting like the 4th mini sucked so much and the new songs are so immensely better... They're a total different style. I can't compare beyond my personal tastes.

EH. I'm tired. Save me from boredom, please?!
uisceros: (Dae and his beer)
And I love them. I KNEW I was going to, but it's different actually hearing them and knowing for sure.

To be honest, I was a little unsure about "Love Song". I don't do as well with slower songs. I like my music to be epic, which usually means a heavy and fast beat. I figured it would exceed my expectations. Big Bang songs are always so much more awesome than the teasers for them.

And, I was right. The song is fabulous. I'm really surprised by how much I like it. (OMG Dae's vocals... they give me the chills) It reminds me of SOMETHING, something good. The closest thing I can compare it to is artsy melodic rock-pop. It gives me the same feeling as some of the more epic songs on Silverchair's Diorama do. The closest that makes sense is Tuna in the Brine.

As for "Stupid Liar", well, I knew I was going to love that one. Rock-inspired, with beautiful vocals, a catchy hook, and strong rap parts? YEAH. Like I wasn't going to like that? No other real comment other than it's fabulous, and I will be listening to it on repeat for a long time.

"Baby Don't Cry" is lovely. Dae's voice is amazing. AMAZING. I heard it at the concert originally. At the first concert I was like "ehhhhhhhhhh......", because seriously, I don't like ballads much (except, randomly, for Chinese ballads). The second concert I was in to it. I can't be apathetic about Dae's songs for very long. His voice is too damn pretty for that. And, honestly, the chorus (which was the only part I remembered from the concert) has been stuck in my head for at least 2 weeks.

uisceros: (Big Bang W mag)
I'm interested to see where this song goes. I love when TOP sings. He does it so rarely (only 3 songs so far, I think?), but he's remarkably good at it, considering he's a rapper (Rapper Choom Top). I still love love LOVE him singing Blackstreet's "No Diggity".

Anyway, I'll probably like it. I do hope there is a pick up in there somewhere. I don't really do great with ballads - they tend to be my least favorite songs.



TOMORROW I START MY JOB. Kinda. I start the orientation, but still... it counts.

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