29th July 2003

feeling: excited
listening to: Carmina Burana - Oh Fortuna (Excalibur Remix)

Whee, third cat, third cat, third cat! *bounces* I can't wait to see her for real. I bet she's the cutest thing EVER. Man, it's been nine years since I last saw, much less held, a kitten. I bet she's a regular heat-throb. o^______^o

Umm...Maccie? I absolutely loathe to beg this of you again, but would you please bid on a couple of items for me? They're not expensive at all, but simply a must for my Gaara-obsessed mind. Please?
Item 1
Item 2

Pleeeeeease? *bambi-eyes*


28th July 2003

feeling: frustrated
listening to: Dance Dance Revolution - Butterfly

devART is acting like a total ass with me today. The changes I make won't update and the two deviations I submitted today both turned out to be invalid, for whatever reason. I had to fight and argue with DA for the whole day until I was finally able to delete them. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for DA because I'm really sick of this. *will stay the heck away from DA for the rest of the day*

--

feeling: great
listening to: Final Fantasy 7 - Those Who Fight Further [BM Mix]

New layout, y0. In case you didn't notice. ¬_¬ I was actually supposed to have a TMNT layout, but decided I wanted to go with this one instead. Yes, I'm a Suna Nin obsessee. I can't help it. XP More than likely the TMNT layout will be layout #17, since it's already done.

I have gotten extremely broody since we got back from Ireland. Though not in the sense you'd think, heck no! I have absolutely no desire to get pregnant and have a kid, that's not what this is about. It's about our thrid cat. I want the kitten SO BAD! I check the paper every morning for an ad about kittens, but so far there have been none. Man, I'm going nuts with the wait. I want to have the kitten NOW. Yyh... ;;_;;<


23rd July 2003

feeling: fine
listening to: Final Fantasy 10 - People Of The Extreme North

Hmm. We'll be going home tomorrow. I feel rather strange about that. I can't wait to see mom and our kitties, though. :]

We're going to the town for the final time today. We still have to get Minna something, and we're also going to visit Forbidden Planet. Avoca is also a must-go, since their fudge is so bloody delicious. I definitely need to take loads of that home with me. And perhaps we'll also stumble upon something nice to take to grandma. I know she doesn't want anything, but I still want to bring her something. ^_^

Looky looky, cheap BA singles that I have yet to own! :D

ICE CREAM!


20th July 2003

feeling: somewhat hungry
listening to: Tonari No Totoro - Kaze No Toori Michi Instrumental

I could kill for some Chinese right now. Mmm...curry chicken with fried rice. :D~~

MirozaCat took a rather ungraceful dip in the backyard pond today. I didn't actually see her fall in, as we were doing the dishes with Chiko-Chiko, but I heard Inanna shout something at her and then the poor cat came rushing in, soaked to the bone. She was quite a sight. XD Inanna suspected she had been chasing something and had ended up in the pond as a result. Silly beast. She didn't take too kindly to being dried off, either, and kept meowing all the time as Drew wrapped her in a towel. We decided that she could manage the rest of the cleaning and drying job herself, and left her to it. Hopefully she won't get sick because of it, as Inanna said she has a habit of doing that after taking a drink from the pond. And I thought Tiuku was a twit... oO

I also did a little weeding today with Inanna. I didn't do much, mainly just helped her pull out what I suspected was clematis. It felt weird to say the least, to savagely pull out what I so painstakingly tried to get to grow at home. :/

Not much else going on. We'll probably visit a Japanese garden tomorrow, and at some point probably make a final visit to town, as Chiko-Chiko still wants to pay a visit to Forbidden Planet before we leave. :)


19th July 2003

feeling: okay, I suppose
listening to: Final Fantasy 6 - Shadow's Theme OC Remix

Oi Inanna! Just so you know: I'm THIS close to stealing the awesomeness that is the stereo system in your room. You guys wouldn't want to buy me one for, say, X-mas, would you? ;P

*moons in narutofanclub's general direction*


18th July 2003

feeling: frustrated
listening to: Bryan Adams - Hey Baby

Right, I need help from you people. Would anyone happen to have a BIGGER version of either this or this picture? I want to make a Mystique layout, but it's so BLOODY hard to find layout-wise good pictures of the pretty lady. So please, if anyone could help me in this, I'd REALLY appreciate it. :)

--

feeling: accomplished, fangirly
listening to: videogame songs from live365

Phew. Now we have pretty much done all the necessary shopping for our Ireland trip. We still haven't bought anything to Minna, but luckily we still have time to take care of that. Mostly we have left that bit of shopping undone because we need Inanna's help in finding a place for "that" kind of things.
I am still amazed by the fact that no one ever asked me for any kind of ID when I bought dad some whiskey today. The saleslady was really nice and helpful, but never asked for my age. I swear, were it in Finland, I would've had to show my ID for sure. And I didn't get ID'ed when we went to the bar, either. 'tis funky. >.>

On another news, I'm totally drooling over these two. Anyone want to buy them for me? ;D
*nudgenudge*


17th July 2003

feeling: okay
listening to: nothing

Grey, rainy, gloomy. I sort of wanted to go to the town today, but the rain took care that we'll be very much staying indoors today. I had planned to wash some of our used up clothes today, but as I prefer to have them dry outside and it's pretty impossible for them to do that when it's raining, I decided against it. Perhaps tomorrow morning, before leaving to the town. We also have a slight problem with doing the dishes, as both of the drying cloths were hanging on the wash-line to dry before it started raining sometime in the morning. So unless there are other clothy things lying around that we could use, we really can't do anything before it stops raining and the drying cloths are, well, dry. We could just leave the dishes on the table to dry by themselves, but that seems a little unhygienic. :/

Not much to do except sit around today. Hopefully it won't rain tomorrow, as we were planning on going to the town, since we can't today. Oh, and Drew, before I forget. I thought I'd ask you as well, since Inanna didn't really know. Is there there a shop around where I could get reasonably good whisky with a reasonable prize, to take home to my dad? Inanna suggested the airport, but that feels a little like cheating. XP


16th July 2003

feeling: *wheeze*
listening to: nothing

It's bloody HOT today! Went outside with Chiko-Chiko to mail the postcards and buy some ice cream, and I all but died from a heat-stroke. The air is so hot and still, it almost feels like you can't breath out there. A little thunderstorm would be in order right about now, I'd say. At least it would clear the air a bit. *is sweating bucketloads* Must remember to bring our laundry in before that, though. :/

And, as I said, the postcards have finally been mailed. We dumped them in a green box outside the postoffice, so hopefully they'll find their way to all the relevant people in the next few days. It would be super-embarrassing to have the cards arrive home later than we did. ~_~

Not much else to say, I suppose. I think I'll go get my mega-yummy Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream from the freezer in a couple of minutes, when it hopefully has cooled a bit after warming up a bit on the way home from the store. I should also get something to eat, because I'm hungry.


15th July 2003

feeling: sore at the feet
listening to: Final Fantasy X - Feel

Today was fun. We went to the Dublin Zoo with Inanna, and boy, was it cool or what! When we first set out in the morning, it was really hot and sweaty, but almost immediately after we got to the zoo it started raining, and that cleared the air very much. The rain kept coming in short showers during the whole of our stay, but it didn't really bother us. Anyway, on to the animals.
The first thing we saw was a jaguar. S/he was lying on the top of small wooden construction and paid very little attention to us. S/he looked very beautiful nonetheless. We then went to see the tigers, and they offered a little more of a show for us. What I assume was the male tiger walked around the fence, occasionally going right past the glass window where we were oogling at him, which meant that he wasn't more than 30cm from me. Talk about handsome...and big! Rawr! :D The female one casually slept under a tree and cared very little for us. At some point she got up and started moving around, and even gave the male tiger a beating. Coolness. After the tigers we went to see the snow leaopards, which were all cuddled up together in a small cave, taking cover from the rain. There were two adults, and you could barely tell where one ended and the other one began. They were so cute.
After that we briefly saw some orangutans and gorillas while on our way to see THE WOLVES. Too bad they, too, were taking cover from the rain and just slept in the long grass under a tree. Their ears were pretty much all you could see of them. ~.~ We did come back later to see them, but not much had changed. One of them had moved to the top of their den type-o thing, but was still sleeping so you STILL couldn't see much of him. The other two were still hiding in the grass.
Moving on, we saw some sea lions playing around in a pool. One of them was HUGE and later came to be called Rightwraith by us for the sounds he made. After that we went to the African Plains, were admittedly the first thing we did was get something to eat. After that, we moved on. We saw some giraffes, zebras and ostriches but unfortuantely only from a distance. Then our attention was caught by a GIANT hippo slugging out of the water. He (I assume it was a he because of his mad size) had rather nasty-looking long teeth that showed rather uncomfortably from his mouth. In the pool there were two smaller hippos swimming away. One of them appeared to be laughing at us, judging by the way s/he opened and closed that grinning mouth. They refused to give that famous yawn at us, though. :( A little further away were three rhinos doing pretty much nothing. They were f00king huge! I found myself being really glad for the trench between them and the feeble-looking fence. o_O
Moving on, we saw a couple of birds that looked very much like an ibis or the like. They were about 1m high, black and had a rather icky-looking skinpouch under their chins. Gorgeous birds. Coincidentally, their feeding time happened just as we were watching them. Guess what they ate for lunch? Dead chicks. The word "cannibal" came to mind rather quickly... One them even walked around with the chick's corpse hanging by the side of his beak, head held up high, as if showing off. XP After the birds, we came across a cheetah. Too bad it was so far away in the bushes that we could barely see it. A pretty little thing, nonetheless. We also saw two hogs that reminded us very much of Daigoro. Incidentally, one of the little kids called them dogs. >.> They put on a fight for us, too, ramming and shoving each other. After most of the crowd cleared they stopped, though. It was all just a show. :P Moving on, we found the lion fence. Not much happening there, though. The male was sprawled out on the ground, looking very lazy, while the female was sitting around in their den. Neither of them paid very much attention to us, and even the lioness went to sleep after a while. The last thing we saw before returning to the "regular" zoo was a couple of things called bongos. They looked like gazelles, but were a little too large to actually be them, imo. Whatever they were, they sure were pretty. About the size of a cow, they were brown and had white stripes all over them. They had "curly" horns and a colorful face. Me liked. :) While leaving the African Plains, we saw a family of mallards. They had lots of baby mallards, too, about the size to fit on your palm. Cuteness. ^_^
Back in the "regular" zoo, we saw some penguins and a white grinning owl (would call it Hedwig if cared any for HP). We also came across two red pandas lazing around. They were curled up in the tree house thingy like cats. Charming little fellows, reminded me a lot of our cats. :D A little further away we saw some ibis birds, as well. Talk about wild hairdos! *nudges Jehuty* :P
More cuteness coming up - we found ourselves at the ring-tailed lemur fence. But again, as it was raining, the cute little buggers were all huddled as a giant hairy lump in their tree house. Coming back later, though, they were lively and moving about and became the target of much awwwness from yours truly. One of the lemurs had two babies clinging to her back, never letting go even as she jumped around rather wildly. :D
Then we entered the City Farm yard. I found a big grey donkey that I immediately became friends with. He was a really charming fellow, letting me pat and scratch him all over. He even nuzzled my palm with his soft and hairy muzzle. He drooled quite a bit on my hand, but never bit me. My hands were really filthy after petting him, but it was all worth it. ^_^ In the farm yard we also saw pigs, cows, goats, sheep, chickens, rabbits and guinea-pigs. One of the pigs sniffed my palm and - again - drooled all over it, but didn't bite. Yay. :)
We also went in the South American-, reptile- and bat houses. We saw really big iguanas and I was totally mesmerized. Other things we saw were a huge boa, several kinds of different turtles, crocodiles, tiny little monkeys, two big sloths that reminded me of mom (*hug*) and lots of bats. The bat house was extremely cool, actually. It being a nocturnal house, it was dark and you could barely see the bats before your eyes got used to the darkness. Then you could see lots of bats hanging upside down by their feet, making their way across the ceiling with their claws, running down large ropes way faster than they look capable of, climbing up the walls and hanging by their feeding pots. One bat was silly enough to hang upside UP by his thumb claws, looking around. We concluded he was doing yoga. XD They also spread their wings while hanging from the ceiling, as if to say "I'm Batman!". It was cool. There were also these mega-tiny bats, not taller than my thumb and they could've easily fit on the palm of my hand. They didn't do much except sleep upside down, but were awesomely cute nonetheless. What I also loved about the bat house was that there was constantly chirping going on. :]
We also saw some elephants, which by the way looked way smaller than elephants are allowed to look. I figured this was because they were Asian elephants, and not African. They didn't put up much of a show for us and pretty much just stood around. Majestic animals, all the same.
We briefly saw some otters, who also chirped at us much like MirozaCat does, and then we went to see the meercats. Talk about kawaii! One of them was keeping watch while the other toiled around. One was busy doing whatever, mostly digging holes, and one was apparently on babysitting duty, as s/he kept watch over two ITSY-BITSY meercat cubs. The babies played around, digging tiny holes in the sand (and pooping in them XD) and wrestling with each other. At one point the babysitter sat flat on his butt while one of the babies stood up on his hindlegs as if on guard. He almost fell backwards several times, swaying where he stood. When we later passed them again, all but one were sleeping in a bundle. One of the adults was sleeping on his back while one of the babies slept peacefully on his upturned tummy. The other baby was apparently buried somewhere in there, as we could only see his tail. Major awwwness at meercats. :3
On to the gift shop. I bought myself a pretty wolf mug and a wolf plushie which immeadiately was named Nighteyes after the wolf in Robin Hobb's books. He's all fuzzy and puppy-like, with his large eyes and bob-ish tail. He's very ragdolly and EXTREMELY huggable. I <3 him very dearly. ^-^ Chiko-Chiko got herself a dolphin plushie which naturally got called Iruka. I also had to go there twice to buy more film, because I was constantly running out of it. I think I took three rolls in all. o_O

Phew. I think that pretty much covers it. Like I said in the beginning of this entry, we had a great time and tons of fun. My feet and especially my calves are really sore and stiff now, and I expect they will be even worse tomorrow, but it was definitely worth it! Major yayness at Dublin Zoo. My only complaint is that the wolves were so darn lazy and thus I couldn't get a good look at them, much less awesome photos. :( Will possibly have to go there again before leaving, to see if they would be more lively and ready to pose for me.

But yeah, major coolness. :D


9th July 2003

feeling: hungry
listening to: live365

Ack. Stupid sour, overly-lemony ice cream! ><

A quizzy-thingy, stolen from Glass:

Top 10 Favorite Games:
1. Zone Of The Enders
2. Final Fantasy X
3. Final Fantasy IX
4. Silent Hill 3
5. Silent Hill 2
6. Tekken
7. Blood Omen 2
8. Devil May Cry
9. Wizards & Warriors III
10. Super Mario Bros 3

Favorite male game character(s): Jehuty (ZOE), Anubis (ZOE), Auron (FFX), Jecht (FFX), Yojimbo (FFX), Hwoarang (Tekken), Yoshimitsu (Tekken), Kain (LoK), Raziel (LoK), Pyramid Head (SH2), Vivi (FFIX), Black Waltzes (FFIX), Mugetsu (Bouncer).
Favorite female game character(s): ADA (ZOE), Viola (ZOE), Heather (SH3), Lulu (FFX), Umah (BO2), Angela (SH2).
Favorite gaming company: Konami, Square.
Favorite game mascot: Can't think of any.
Favorite game system: PlayStaion/2.
Favorite fighting game: Tekken.
Favorite RPG: Final Fantasy X.
Favorite adventure game: Does Zone Of The Enders count? If not, then LoK-games.
Favorite party/multiplayer game: Tekken, though it's not a party game as such.
Favorite survival horror title: Silent Hill.
Favorite game storyline: Legacy Of Kain, SH.
Favorite game ending: I'm going to go with Final Fantasy X here, because it makes me cry SO MUCH.
Least favorite game ending: Excalibur 2555 AD. Talk about crappy and unrewarding. Ungh.
Favorite game intro: Either Zone Of The Enders or FF VIII. Can't decide.
Favorite game soundtrack: Zone Of The Enders or FFX.
Favorite song from a game: Kiss Me Sunlights (ZOE) or Suteki Da Ne (FFX).
Favorite game villain: The Black Waltzes or Mugetsu.
Favorite game hero: If Kain counts (since he's more of an anti-hero), then him. If not, Jehuty. Shut up.
Favorite game heroine: Heather.
Favorite movie based on a game: Haven't seen any.

{{ Either/Or? }}
2D vs. 3D? -- Don't have anything against either of them.
RE/Silent Hill -- Silent Hill. Hands down.
Onimusha/Tenchu -- Tenchu, though haven't played either.
Zelda/Dark Cloud -- Zelda. Though haven't played Dark Cloud.

{{ Odds And Ends }}
Most overrated game? -- Metal Gear Solid. It's a good game, but enough with the hype.
Game Made Into A Movie? -- Silent Hill, but only if they didn't screw it up and managed to make it as scary as the games.
Series that should continue? -- Can't think of any, now that there's ZOE 2. ^-^
Series that should end? -- Dead Or Alive. *grumble*
Game You'd Like To See Remade? -- Wizards & Warriors III.
Game(s) You Can Play Endlessly? -- I just listed my Top 10 fave games, didn't I?
Character(s) That You'd Enjoy As A Punching Bag? -- Seymour (FFX), Dauragon (Bouncer), Sion (Bouncer), Moebius (LoK), Yunalesca (FFX) for killing Auron...and for killing Jecht, in a way...and for killing Braska, in a way...BITCH!!
Hardest Game Ever? -- Mission Impossible for NES. DIE, stupid game, DIE!
Do You Yell At Games? -- *looks at her previous answer* ...¬_¬ Me? Never! That's stupid and immature and and and...! *runs*


6th July 2003

feeling: stuffed
listening to: Final Fantasy 10 - To Zanarkand

So. Went to the city center today with Inanna, Drew and Dave. It was all good fun, though I lost all sense of direction fairly quickly. But I'd imagine that with a map we'll manage well enough. Today we visited two bookstores, where I got myself the third Liveship Tradeers book, The Ship Of Destiny. I also saw The Tawny Man book two, The Golden Fool, but didn't buy it as it was the size of a regular hardcover despite of being a paperback. Drew told me that first comes the hardcover, then the larger paperback and last the smaller paperback, which was the one I was trying to find. So it appears that I'll have to wait a little longer to get this book, after all. Poo.
We also visited a large gamestore and got ourselves Project Zero for PS2 and the Final Fantasy 10 Official Strategy Guide - because it has pretty pictures, not because I really need it. On a happy sidenote, the store seemed to have Bryan Adams's So Far So Good record on replay or something because a song after song came from the radio. I could've stayed there all day and sung along. XP
After the gamestore our group split and Drew showed Chiko-Chiko and me a few comic shops after which he took us to Forbidden Planet, which was HEAVEN! A NGE Unit 002 action figure caught my eye and I will probably go back to get it one of these days. Chiko-Chiko spent several minutes drooling over a Gollum cardboard stand, but it was too expensive (over 30e) and there's no way for us to bring something that large home via airplane and bus. They also had a GORGEOUS TMNT poster that we could've killed for (it was a teaser poster for the new TMNT), but it was already reserved for someone. D'oh! We didn't really have time to look around too much, as the shop was closing up, but we'll definitely go there again. Several times, probably. ^_~
After leaving Forbidden Planet behind we reunited with Inanna and Dave, and went to a place called Wagamama to get something to eat. It turned out to be a Japanese/Chinese restaurant and they had ramen! I got myself some salmon ramen, which was very yummy indeed. Chiko-Chiko had a bowl of chicken ramen, but as her share was so big, she managed to eat only half of it. Apparently you're supposed to be a big manly man urgh to finish a whole bowl. o_O *casts a glance in Naruto's general direction* Figures I am one, then, as I managed to eat all of my share, though getting down the very last bits of "soup" was a rather difficult task. Must admit, I was feeling VERY heavy afterwards. Dave made fun of me by asking where all the food went, since it wasn't pouring out from anywhere and I still kept eating. -.- I also had a cup of green tea, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations. To me, it was like hot water with something green to give it color. It tasted pretty much like nothing. But yeah, major yayness at ramen. Will definitely have to go eat it again before we leave. There was also a sushi place along the road, so we'll probably check that out at some point, as well. w00t! :]

Now Chiko-Chiko and I should go downstairs to do the dishes. Gah. Well, at least it's not that big of a job and doesn't take that long at all. It's just that we're so super tired right now. 9_9


4th July 2003

feeling: sleepy, but otherwise fine
listening to: Escaflowne - Sora's Folktale echoing from downstairs

Feeling much better today. We went to bed rather early last night (around 9pm local time) and didn't get up until 2pm today. We had a good night's sleep, though I woke up at some point of the night to the feeling of freezing over. Chiko-Chiko also complained being cold at some point, so we used a sheet as an extra cover for her. I also got an extra cover for myself, and at some point Chiko-Chiko wanted to come under it, as well, so we ended up sharing the covers. After that it was all good, and we slept peacefully for the rest of the night and most of the morning.

After getting up we spent a good deal of time trying to rescue a mega-tiny mouse from MirozaCat, but the little critter was so fast and bouncy that we couldn't catch it. The poor little thing was huddled on top of the dining room door, and Miroza was staring at it hungrily from the table. I tried to take mouse out with a pair of gloves while Chiko-Chiko escorted Miroza upstairs, but the little bugger almost gave me a heartattack by taking a giant leap to the floor. After that it ran around the room scared witless while we tried to catch it. The task turned hopeless when it vanished somewhere between the sofa and the bookcase. As there was nothing more we could do at the moment, we decided to leave it and hope we run into it again before Miroza does. Must remember to watch where I step. The mouse must be the tiniest thing I've ever seen! o_O

For now we're just bumming around the house alone, but we'll probably go take a look around as soon as Inanna gets home from work. Tomorrow we might venture into the city center to spend some money, but that's not set in stone yet. I guess we'll just take things as they come for now and see how it goes. :]

Extra hälsingar för Kaa-Chan! <3 <3 ^-^
(Lilith, my Swedish is so bad! -_-)


03 July 2003

feeling: very tired
listneing to: nothing

Well. Finally arrived to Ireland. Our flight landed a few hours ago and now we're at Inanna's and Drew's. At the moment there's no one here but us, since Inanna had to go to work and I suspect Drew is working as well. Oh, and if either one of you guys happen to see this sometime soon, toss the password for the comp in "our room" this way, so Chiko-Chiko can get online, as well. Thanks. :]
Anyway. Our flight went well and things are fine all-around. Things went smoothly at the airport and we even managed to avoid getting lost in the toilets. XP Now we are both very tired, though, since we had to get up at 4am. That means I got about 4 hours of sleep last night, and I hear Chiko-Chiko didn't sleep at all. So I think we're either going to nap the whole day or go to bed very early in the evening. Or both. >.>
Anyhow, just to let everyone know we're alive and well, albeit dead-tired. We'll probably start taking over Dublin tomorrow, after getting a bit more sleep.
BTW...Cat is ADORABLE. So skinny. o_O